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Pentecostal preacher powers against possessed witches and pagan demons in Kenya
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Pastor Lawrence Omambia, lead preacher at the Community of Christ church in Kisii, Kenya
Pastor Lawrence Omambia spends one Sunday each month at the Community of Christ church in Kisii, Kenya exorcising the worshippers by the ‘laying on of hands’ on their foreheads, and shouting in Kiswahli, "I command evil spirits to come out now in the name of Jesus."
The practice of exorcism is not uncommon in the Catholic Church, however, it had caused Omambia to be excommunicated from the Church more than a decade ago. He reportedly had emphasized the occult when the Church tends to handle these matters in a quieter manner perhaps to avoid skepticism, but also to prudently monitor the number of true demonic possessions.
Still, over the past several years, the Church has been acknowledging the increased interest in the occult.
In 1999 under the guidance of its chief exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth, the Vatican updated the ritual for exorcism for the first time since 1614. Guidelines tell priests authorized to carry out exorcism to "diligently examine the facts," before sprinkling holy water on someone claiming to be possessed by Satan.1
And in 2005, students at the school of theology at Regina Apostolorum, one of Rome's most prestigious pontifical universities, attended a two-month course on the occult, including how to carry out an exorcism.
Omambia’s method involves mingling with the crowds who have come to his church on the outskirts of town to seek physical and spiritual healings and to exorcise their pagan demons. Walking swiftly to a worshiper, he thrusts his hands on the supplicant's head. Instead of holy water, the Christian pastor smears olive oil “on the site of the offending aches and pains.”
They come for prayers to be released from the powers of witchcraft," says Omambia. "Some are possessed by these demonic spirits, so they come forward for prayers to get healed,” according to a Nov. 11, 2009 CNN report by David McKenzie. Excerpts follow.
The pastor says he can heal cancer, epilepsy and possession and says that the power from his hands is like electric currents from Jesus.
Of course it isn't all that unusual for a pastor to claim healing powers. Witness the blow-dried televangelists of America and elsewhere, who often advertise their dramatic healing powers in infomercials.
But in western Kenya the belief in the supernatural is far deeper, and the line between Christianity and the occult is thin at best.
Many here believe that witches, night-runners brandishing flaming torches and evil spirits populate the night.
And lynch mobs often attack accused witches. A particularly gruesome incident occurred near Kisii in late May. Fifteen people, mostly elderly women, were murdered in a witch-hunt.
Villagers say that more than 100 people gathered machetes and knives and stormed the village of Kegogi after midnight. They believed that the witches operated out of a school and compiled lists of those that they would curse. Five months ago, another five women were killed in similar circumstances.
Omambia says witches should be sent to jail, not killed. That he, a Pentecostal preacher, believes in witches, rankles some more traditional Christians.
The Bible seems pretty clear about people who practice the Occult: "For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord"- Deuteronomy 18:9-12. But many Christians and pastors in Western Kenya believe in a complex mix of scripture and local traditions.
"Witches are there," says the pastor, "but what we do here is more powerful than witchcraft."
1 Vatican offers course in Satanism and exorcism, Elizabeth Day, The Telegraph/January 9, 2005.
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