Esther Arunga Saga: Untold story of Finger of God (FoG) Church - Weekly Citizen Paper

As Kenyans reel from the incredible revelations that top television personality Esther Arunga has been ensnared in the activities of the hitherto unheard-of so-called Finger of God Church, weirder details are emerging that may make even the hardest of red-light district operatives blush.

According to a woman who has been in the church and who has since left after realizing that she was headed the direction that is the exact opposite of what she had been made to believe was towards a more rewarding life, for one to be accepted in the church that she says is actually a sect, one has to insert his finger in the privates parts of a woman in a bizarre act that in all descriptions and purposes is a pornographic initiation rite.

It is from this that the cult derives its finger of God name. Indeed, it is said, the worship in the church is nothing but partying that ends up in out of control sex orgies. Finger of sex church, sources say, would be the appropriate name of the church. The church at Runda Estate has eight bedrooms making it the only known church of its kind in Kenya, with live-in adherents partially cut off from the main society.

That the church has a thing with sex is illustrated by the fact that its adherents reportedly run sex related businesses. Arunga herself recently opened a spa in Nairobi's Runda area which apart from offering hairdo and beauty services it offers other services.

In Nairobi, spas are pseudonyms for brothels as apart from sauna hot baths, they also offer sex services with beautiful and nude girls who are permanently stationed in the spas ostensibly to offer massage.

One of the earliest followers of the Finger of God in Kenya Seanice Kacungira who until early this year was a presenter at Capital FM, has now opened a spa of her own in Kampala near the gates of the US Embassy and it is suspected that she is now on missionary assignment to fish more adherents in Kampala.

Capital FM intriguingly seems to be the media home of the finger church as the church's leader Joseph Omondi Hellon has been holding prayers called morning evolution sessions for staff every Wednesday. What remains unknown is whether the station's owner Chris Kirubi aka DJ CK has given a nod to the church although it is highly unlikely that anything can go on a weekly basis in his pet project radio station without his knowledge.

Incidentally, Arunga started her media career at Capital FM she presented the Saturday morning rock music show.

Capital FM also happens to be a rich fishing ground of the church as it has won the hearts and minds of Anne Kiguta, Cess Mutungi and Everline Wanbui. KTN's Isabella Kituri is an usher in the church and has flatly refused to quit even after the human resource manager at KTN called her after the saga exploded and asked her to either choose the church or her job. Kituri lost her husband barely two years into marriage and experts have pointed out that she is just the right target for cultists as she might be vulnerable and gullible.

Lillian Muli of KTN is said to have been a member but left after a brief stay. Others in KTN who were approached but declined are Esther Kahumbi and Cynthia Nyamai. It is not known whether Esther Kahumbi turned down the offer. Mwenda Kiogoria attends. Linus Kaikai was once seen driving to the residence following the David Makali's vehicle. Makali is Omondi's music promoter. K24's Luois Otieno and True Love's Carol Mandi have been targeted as was Daniel Ndambuki aka Churchil alias Mwalimu King'ang'i.

At NTV, Jamila Mbugua is said to be a member while Peninah Karibe has been approached by Arunga. Apart from holding prayers at Runda, the members also congregate at the Lenana Conference Centre at Kilimani opposite DOD.

Others in the church that seems to derive most of its following from the media and entertainment industry are musician Kanji Mbugua and music producer Big Kev and events organizer Big Ted. Daughter of minister Anyang Nyong, Lupita Nyong'o is also alleged to have been approached. Classic FM's Maina Kageni is said to be a member. Jackson Makini alias Rakim Ngechu aka Prezzo was approached declined because he is a muslim.

At a press conference organized by Makali who owns the Sound Africa music company that has signed Omondi who is a saxophonist in a class of his own, Omondi declared that he will run for the presidency in 2012 with Arunga as his running mate. Now if anyone needed proof that this is a cult, that was it as it is only a deluded Omondi and Arunga who can imagine that they can become prezzy and VP in 2012.

Cults are known to specialise in self-belief antics that make their followers live in a dream world that they believe is real. In TV interview with K24's Jeff Koinange, Arunga compared herself with biblical Esther and said that she is the one who is going to save Kenya.

So blinded is Arunga that e-mails were sent from the next room to hers and she believed they were coming from international evangelist Benny Hinn who has since disowned the e-mails one of which is seen as the stroke that broke the camel's back as it instructed Arunga to dump the boyfriend, Wilson Malaba whom she was going to marry in April for Omondi's friend one Wambiti who has changed his name to Quincy Timberlake taking a name from global musical icon Quincy Jones and another from superstar Justin Timberlake.

To add insult to injury, Timberlake was made pastor of the church. With his woman gone, the man, Wilson Malaba started spilling the beans of the church that he was also a member of. It is worth noting that Arunga broke another engagement and called off the marriage that was supposed to take place in October last year.

Another time, a man invited her to Mombasa after lying to her that he was a big shot in a blue chip company only for her to realize that the boy was jobless and lived with his mother and had no house of his own. The boy never took her to his home and she stayed in a hotel room.

But even as Arunga last week' projected her mid-range future plans, others were worried about her immediate future with her thousands of admirers sympathizing with her for resigning from her enviable job into the vagaries of tarmacking.