An investigation led to the arrest of a priest on suspicion of stealing thousands of dollars or millions of Kenyan shillings from the ACK Mwea Town Church. It is stated that he obtained the money from the church intended to be used to purchase a seat in the church.
Filching Money From ACK Mwea Town Church
The church leadership signed a contract with Apostle Blessed Gilbert Kariuki and his spouse on February 9, 2023, requiring them to supply 410 chairs to the church on or before April 10, 2023. However, The Kenyan Post reported that the renegade Man of God neither provided the seats nor did he show up. According to the statements made at the Wang'uru Police Station by the church congregants, the man of the cloth defrauded them of their money before vanishing. After fruitless attempts to contact him, the church vicar was compelled to file the report. As mentioned, Apostle Blessed Kariuk was detained by the police after they moved swiftly to investigate allegations that he defrauded the ACK Mwea Town Church out of two million Kenyan shillings or around $14,500 intended to purchase church seats.
Moreover, All Africa reported that on Monday, May 29, Apostle Blessed Kariuki, pastor of the Jesus Is Alive & Lord International Ministries church in Muiru, located in Kiambu county, was brought before the Wanguru court of law. He was accused of collecting money under fraudulent pretenses. In related news, Tuko reported that a pastor living in Nairobi was charged with defrauding many individuals out of a total of KSh 4 million or approximately $29,000 by making the false promise that he would sell the victims plots of land and market stall spaces in the Mowlem neighborhood of Eastlands.
On the other hand, Catherine Wairimu, the Arise and Shine Healing and Deliverance Church pastor in Githurai, has been charged with fraud multiple times between February 1, 2021, and August 12, 2021. The dates of the alleged offenses ranged from 1 to 12 months apart. Details on the charge sheet showed that during the time between the previous different dates, at Mowlem area in Nairobi County, jointly with another before the court, received over KSh 2.5 million or over $18,000 from Noel Njeri Ngure intending to defraud.
Also Read: Bishop Faces Accusation of Claiming Ownership of God Global Ministry Where He Got Evicted
Contractor's Response to Apostle Blessed Gilbert Kariuki's Arrest
According to a report from Opera News, after hearing rumors that Apostle Kariuki had been apprehended for stealing money from the church, Jial Holdings Limited, the company the priest contracted to deliver church chairs, released a statement. As stated, the information provided by Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) needed to be corrected because Apostle Kariuki voluntarily appeared in court in response to a subpoena. The legal proceedings were carried out appropriately, and a just decision was reached after considering the evidence presented. They clarified that the issue currently being considered by the court refers to a delay in delivery and not a fundamental breach of delivery, as DCI has asserted. Jial Holdings LTD followed by saying that the delay was caused by a mistake made by the manufacturing company, which generated the incorrect design of the church chairs. After the alleged delay, they discussed the letter of apology they had written and submitted to the Mwea ACK church.
Furthermore, after lengthy deliberation on the part of the court, the attorney for the client was instructed to advise the client to wait until the additional time asked to correct the error. JIAL Holdings Ltd disclosed that, in the past, they have successfully provided church chairs while operating under the supervision of the Apostle, and they have received confirmation from happy customers that their services are of high quality and can be relied upon. Also, they voiced their dissatisfaction with the authorities for disseminating false information to the general public before conducting adequate investigations.
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