US man accused of sex abuse at Kenyan orphanage he founded

A convicted sex offender went on to establish an orphanage in Kenya where he preyed on children under the guise of missionary work, according to federal prosecutors who announced Friday that he was being charged with sexually molesting four teenage girls.

Gregory Dow, 60, of Lancaster, is accused of four counts of violating a U.S. law against sexual contact with minors in foreign countries, U.S. Attorney William McSwain said. There likely are other victims, investigators said, but tracking the children who lived in the orphanage has been difficult.

Dow is accused of abuse from 2013 until 2017, when prosecutors say he fled back to the United States to avoid prosecution in Kenya. The Dow Family Children’s Home in Boito, in a rural area west of Nairobi, closed in September 2017.


US man accused of sex abuse at Kenyan orphanage he founded

UPDATE::Missionary Matthew Lane Durham sentenced - CNN.com

An Oklahoma missionary who volunteered at a children's home in Kenya was sentenced to 40 years in prison Monday for sexually assaulting three girls and a boy while working at the facility, according to court documents.

 

Matthew Lane Durham, 21, was sentenced to four decades in prison by Judge David L. Russell on four counts of "engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places," according to court documents.

Missionary Matthew Lane Durham sentenced - CNN.com

Abusive anal exams get a thumbs-up from Kenyan judge | 76 CRIMES

The western church is not so innocent in this bullshit either,,,

A judge in eastern Kenya has rejected a challenge to the legality of anal exams, even though they are widely understood to be abusive and ineffective as a means of proving or disproving allegations of homosexual activity.

Today’s ruling by the High Court in Mombasa means that a criminal case can proceed against two men accused of violating Kenya’s rarely applied law that provides up to 14 years in prison for male-male intimacy. The ruling is being appealed.

Abusive anal exams get a thumbs-up from Kenyan judge | 76 CRIMES

Oklahoma Missionary Accused of Raping Children at African Orphanage Sentenced to 40 Years in Prison | KTLA

An Oklahoma missionary who volunteered at a children’s home in Kenya was sentenced to 40 years in prison Monday for sexually assaulting three girls and a boy while working at the facility, according to court documents.

Matthew Lane Durham, 21, was sentenced to four decades in prison by Judge David L. Russell on four counts of “engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places,” according to court documents.

“In a span of just 33 days,” prosecutors wrote to the court, Durham “raped three girls — ages 5, 9 and 15 — at least eight times. During that same time period, he sexually molested a 12-year-old boy twice.”
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A jury found Durham guilty on seven counts of the charge in June, court records show. Russell acquitted Durham on three of the counts in January, writing that the prosecutors “failed to establish that he engaged in a ‘sexual act’ ” with the children identified in those charges.

Durham’s attorney, Stephen Jones, told CNN on Monday that he plans to appeal the court’s decision.

Oklahoma Missionary Accused of Raping Children at African Orphanage Sentenced to 40 Years in Prison | KTLA

Kenyan mother killed her baby by ripping out his tongue and intestines during 'exorcism' | Daily Mail Online

A Kenyan woman has been arrested after allegedly killing her six-month son by ripping out his tongue and intestines in an exorcism attempt gone wrong. 

Irene Mbithe was pictured sitting with the baby's corpse on her lap, wrapped up in a sheet, in front of her house in Kangurue slum, Nairobi, where the tragedy occurred.

Residents raised alarm and called police after Irene's aunt, Catherine Muthama, arrived at the house and saw the gruesome scene.

Kenyan mother killed her baby by ripping out his tongue and intestines during 'exorcism' | Daily Mail Online

H/T::   In the Name Of god - The Podcast

Standard Digital News - Kenya : Church members burn 13 year old girl, claim they were exorcising demons from her

Police are interrogating three suspects who allegedly burnt a minor in Ponda Mali estate on the outskirts of Nakuru town, claiming they were exorcising demons from her.

The suspects were reportedly in a group of seven, all of whom are members of The Holy Spirit of Israel Church during the last Friday night incident.

County Police Commander Hassan Barua said four other suspects associated with the burning of the 13-year-old girl are still at large.
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According to Bishop George Okal, some church members claimed the girl was possessed by demons and they wanted to help her heal.

The members had been invited by Beatrice Akinyi, the girl’s neighbor and a church member, to pray for her. “Beatrice, a member in my church, requested other members to go to the girl’s house for prayers but upon arriving, they said they wanted paraffin and a candle,” Bishop Okal explained.

Standard Digital News - Kenya : Church members burn 13 year old girl, claim they were exorcising demons from her

Kenya: Pervasive Homophobic Violence in Coastal Region | Human Rights Watch

A report by Human Rights Watch detailing Kenya's treatment of the LGBTQ community by police in the coastal region of that country.

Mobs in Kenya’s coastal region have repeatedly attacked people based on their sexual orientation and gender identity, PEMA Kenya and Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. In at least six incidents between 2008 and 2015, mobs in the coastal counties of Mombasa, Kwale, and Kilifi have attacked or threatened lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people or health workers serving the LGBT community, without sufficient response from authorities.

The 70-page report, “The Issue is Violence: Attacks on LGBT People on Kenya’s Coast,” is based on research conducted in 2014 and 2015 by Human Rights Watch and PEMA Kenya, a community organization in Mombasa that provides support to gender and sexual minorities on human rights, health, HIV/AIDS, and economic well-being. The groups documented rights abuses against members of sexual minorities in Kenya’s coast region, including mob violence, assault, rape, incitement to violence, and inadequate protection. The groups identified ways the Kenyan authorities could improve their response to these abuses.

“For many LGBT people in the coast region, safety is a daily concern,” said Esther Adhiambo, executive director of PEMA Kenya. “While police treatment of LGBT people has improved in recent years, discrimination remains a major problem. LGBT peoples’ justified fear of reporting hate crimes to the police means that violence continues with impunity.”

The authorities’ response to mob attacks and other forms of anti-gay violence has been limited. Officials rarely condemn the attacks. Police, even in the few instances in which they provide protection to victims, have not arrested anyone for participating in or inciting these attacks.

Kenya: Pervasive Homophobic Violence in Coastal Region | Human Rights Watch

Religious cult under fire for denying children health care | Hivisasa.com

Religious child maltreatment due to lack of medical care based on religious belief is not just an issue here in the states.  It seems stupidity has no boundaries.

A sect in Nakuru County has come under fire from members of the public for allegedly denying children access to health care due to their faith.

'Kanisa La Mungu' which has several branches in Nakuru Town Estates has been accused of causing the death of a teenager.

David Mugo, 19, died six days after falling sick but his parents failed to take him to hospital claiming that their 'church' is opposed to medical treatment.

Ann Wasike, a clinic officer at the Nakuru Provincial General Hospital said that the deceased was admitted at the hospital following intervention of neighbours and some relatives but he died two days due to weak immunity.
“The youth has never gone to hospital. He had never been immunised due to religious beliefs by his parents,” said Wasike.

Religious cult under fire for denying children health care | Hivisasa.com

Survivors of female genital mutilation speak out at Nottingham conference | Nottingham Post

Visibly emotional, she spoke of the morning she was told it was "time to become a woman".

She said: "I wanted to run away but I was scared of being alone. The pain I felt was something I can never describe. The experience was horrific. I can still remember the face of the cutter, the clothes she was wearing."

Since that day, Valentine has gone on to campaign against the practice, which is still viewed as a religious tradition in some cultures.

She set up the Nottingham-based Mojatu Foundation last year to raise awareness, and organised Thursday's conference for about 250 health experts, academics and fellow survivors.

Even in the 21st century it is still an issue here in Nottingham. Last year, specialist clinics in the city dealt with more than 200 cases of FGM, nine of which involved girls under 18.

Chris Few, chairman of the Nottinghamshire Safeguarding Children Board, said: "Until we get the whole of the community engaged in dealing with this we are never going to see the end to it. FGM is perhaps unlike other forms of child abuse – it's something we can eradicate. With the right will and commitment we can get rid of it completely."

Survivors of female genital mutilation speak out at Nottingham conference | Nottingham Post

ADDENDUM::I am not a homosexual, says suspended Mt Kenya Anglican priest

A senior Anglican Church reverend at the centre of a gay sex scandal dismissed claims he has been sleeping with fellow men as "distasteful" because he is "a morally upright man with a loving wife and three adoring kids."

Archdeacon John Njogu Gachau now under suspension for allegedly luring young boys into sex in his Parish house is second in command after the Bishop.

"These accusations are false. I don't get why a man can level such abhorrent claims against a servant of God. I have never had sex with a fellow man, this is just distasteful," swore Gachau when The Nairobian visited him at his Ngare Nyiro home where he has retreated following the suspension.

Mt Kenya West diocese bishop Joseph Kagunda said the church had received a complaint early last month and investigated the claims before taking disciplinary measures.

A soft-spoken archdeacon Gachau, who vied for the Bishop seat in the 2004 election, says his conscience is clear and his parishioners could bear him witness that he has stood for "the good of society and well-being of every person I met."

Gachau, until he was shown the door two weeks ago, was the minister in charge of St Andrew Anglican Church Kagongo Parish in Othaya, Nyeri County.

I am not a homosexual, says suspended Mt Kenya Anglican priest - Standard Digital News - Mobile Site | Kenya ::

Anglican church probing five gay priests in Nyeri, Muranga | Nairobi News

The Anglican Church is investigating five more priests from Mt Kenya region over allegations of involvement in homosexuality.

The five, who are on suspension, are married with children and are said to be homosexuals without their wives’ knowledge, according to Mt Kenya West diocese Bishop Joseph Kagunda.

They are from Othaya, Karatina, Murang’a and Nyeri towns.

The church tribunal launched investigations into their behaviour mid this year. Bishop Kagunda also noted that some of them offer marriage counselling.

“The church is ashamed to be associated with them,” said the bishop.
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The bishop said although the church in Kenya is under pressure to allow same-sex marriages, the Anglican Church in Kenya will not fall prey to such doctrines.

“Anyone who feels that homosexuals and gay marriages should be allowed in Church should find a different denomination because the behaviour does not reflect the institution of marriage started by God,” he said.

Anglican church probing five gay priests in Nyeri, Muranga | Nairobi News

See also::   ACK suspends four gay ‘married with kids’ priests

Bishop Kagunda further clarified that none of the parishioners alleged to have engaged in the practice with the clergy men were minors.

Catholic Bishops In Kenya Call For A Boycott Of Polio Vaccines : Goats and Soda : NPR

Africa will mark one year without polio on Tuesday. The last case was in Somalia in 2014.

But last week, a polio vaccination campaign in Kenya faced an unlikely opponent: The country's Conference of Catholic Bishops declared a boycott of the World Health Organization's vaccination campaign, saying they needed to "test" whether ingredients contain a derivative of estrogen. Dr. Wahome Ngare of the Kenyan Catholic Doctor's Association alleged that the presence of the female hormone could sterilize children.

Ngare is a practicing gynecologist with no infectious disease experience.

He raises the specter of eugenics — sterilizing segments of human populations. He put forth other objections as well: "There are all sorts of stories out there," he told me. "Vaccines can cause autism. Vaccines have been used for spread of HIV. There are some cancer-causing viruses that you'd find in vaccines. So there are lot of stories. Some of them we don't know whether they're true or not true."

I pointed out to him that research has shown that claims of vaccines being linked to autism and HIV and cancer are in fact not true.

His response: "We could debate this forever."

Catholic Bishops In Kenya Call For A Boycott Of Polio Vaccines : Goats and Soda : NPR

UPDATE::‘We protect all children, no matter where they’re from,’ Edmond missionary convicted of molesting Kenyan orphans | KFOR.com

 A jury found an Edmond missionary guilty of molesting Kenyan orphans.

Matthew Durham, convicted on 7 counts, showed no emotion when the judge read the guilty verdict Friday afternoon.

Family and friends in the courtroom were visibly upset.

Since the beginning of this trial, the government said Durham preyed on the most vulnerable of victims, orphan children.

Today, prosecutors say, they got justice.
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The 20-year-old is now convicted of molesting orphan children on a 2014 mission trip to Kenya.

Prosecutors said for Durham, it was not about sex, rather, it was about power and violence.

Five of the young victims testified in a sealed courtroom against the man they once trusted.
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“If the children in the Upendo children’s home find there’s a special need such as counseling, medical, those are things we can seek in sentencing. Those are things we will seek,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Don Gifford said.

Durham’s attorney, Stephen Jones, told us after the trial the defendant’s family is in shock.

Obviously this was not the outcome they were hoping for, Jones said, and they plan to appeal.

‘We protect all children, no matter where they’re from,’ Edmond missionary convicted of molesting Kenyan orphans | KFOR.com

Kenya 'miracle healer' scandal hits deep faith in churches - CSMonitor.com

If this sounds http://interestinghmm.blogspot.com/2014/11/updatefatal-church-collapse-in-nigeria.html familiar, it should

He is a self-styled modern-day prophet, a "miracle healer" who has attracted thousands to his Nairobi "church" with claims of being able to cure everything from childlessness to HIV/AIDS.

But last month, the investigative news program "Inside Story" here exposed Victor Kanyari, who ran the Salvation Healing Ministry, as a charlatan. The program revealed elaborate playacting by Mr. Kanyari and a group of devoted followers who helped perpetuate his claims by making false testimonies and staging "healings" in front of the congregation.

Such cases are not new – but the blowback this time is significant. Many Kenyans are outraged that Kanyari easily exploited widespread trust in church institutions and targeted the poor, many of whom are desperate and willing to pay small fees to get the aid Kanyari promised. The case has spurred a bid for new regulation, with the attorney general announcing last week an indefinite ban on registering any new churches. And for mainstream Christians, it raises concerns that faith in the honesty of most religious outlets will decline.
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“In an economy like this one, you’ll find there are millions of people who live on a meal a day who cannot afford good medical care, who have gone to school but don’t have a job," he says. "Those scenarios are fertile for people to come up and offer a miracle cure."

[,,,]
Both tough circumstances and someone who appeared to have solutions attracted people to Kanyari, according to some observers.

“People are in poverty and they are looking for quick solutions,” says Oliver Kisaka Simiyu, the deputy general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Kenya, the umbrella organization representing mainstream Christian churches.

Kenya 'miracle healer' scandal hits deep faith in churches - CSMonitor.com

ADDENDUM::'The Devil Made Me Do It,' Claims Missionary Who Admits Raping Children

An Oklahoma teen charged with raping and sexually assaulting numerous children while volunteering at a missionary children's home in Kenya says a demon made him do it, prosecutors said on Friday.

Matthew Durham, 19, of Edmond faced a judge on Friday regarding accusations he raped up to 10 boys and girls aged 6 to 9 at the Upendo Children's Home in the capital, Nairobi, which helps care for neglected and disabled children.

According to court documents, Durham confessed to the sexual assaults when confronted by church members.

Prosecutors said Durham told a friend he had a demon named "Luke" inside him, and that Durham said "Luke" told him to sexually abuse the children.

Defense attorneys contend that Upendo missionary members coerced Durham's confession by withholding food and his passport until he conceded his guilt.

The defense also alleges that members of the children's home urged him to say he had a demon inside him during his confession.

What is sad, or maybe even pathetic, the focus from Charisma is on the alleged demon "Luke". What is frightening, some of the comments like this one:

,,,I think a mature Christian should rise up and mentore [sic] him, and I think that we should pray that God could some day do amazing works in this young man so that His glory could be put on display for all to see. That way, people who strggle [sic] with similar things might find some hope, and they may find the boldness to approach Jesus and the humbleness to let him change them.

,,,If we treat this man in a way that encourages forgiveness than it will be easier for the children to truly forgive him when they grow up and gain more understanding of what happened, which is crucial to the complete healing process. Justice has already been served. Jesus took it upon himself. After all, we are all in the position of Barabbas.

Sorry to say but, according to KFOR:

It cites text messages received from Durham’s phone, where he allegedly threatened to burn down the house of orphanage’s founder.

In a text provided by prosecutors, he allegedly said, “I’m tired of hiding from what [orphanage founder] is telling people. I control the story from now on. This is war. She better pray she’s ready when she lands.”

Addicting Info also points out that,

According to evidence presented during the Grand Jury trial, on June 15, 2014, days after the allegations against him surfaced, Durham told an unnamed friend that he was demon possessed.

[,,,]
While it’s possible that Durham is suffering from some sort of mental illness, it’s far more likely that he was trying to desperately to find a way to excuse his crimes. The fact that there was no mention of “Luke the child molesting demon” before Durham was caught, is a sure sign that “the devil made me do it” was the only thing he could come up with under the circumstances.

In his 11 page written confession, Durham makes no mention of “Luke”. He describes the crimes in detail and demonstrates a clear understanding of them as well as a vivid memory of what he did and when he did it.

'The Devil Made Me Do It,' Claims Missionary Who Admits Raping Children

US missionary accused of sex abuse in Kenya blames ‘pseudo-tribal psychological voodoo’

A 19-year-old Oklahoma man accused of sexually abusing children while volunteering in Kenya is blaming his actions on “pseudo-tribal psychological voodoo.”

Matthew Durham was charged Friday in federal court with four counts of traveling to engage in illicit sexual conduct, reported The Oklahoman.

The Edmond man was accused of sexually abusing up to 10 children of both sexes, between the ages of 4 and 9 years old, while volunteering this spring at Upendo Children’s Home in Nairobi.

At least one of the victims is HIV-positive, authorities said.

Durham had previously volunteered three times at the children’s home, which was founded by a couple from Edmonds and provides neglected kids with housing, clothing, education and religious instruction.

He was accused of committing the sex acts on his fourth trip, from April 30 to June 17, when he asked to stay overnight at the children’s home.

US missionary accused of sex abuse in Kenya blames ‘pseudo-tribal psychological voodoo’

Kenyan Pastor Bans Female Congregants From Wearing Underwear in Church

Another bizarre example of harm by religion. No accusations of misconduct have been brought forth, yet, but thinking such as this ",,,so God can enter their bodies easily," makes me cringe.

A pastor in Kenya is making headlines for recently banning his female congregants from wearing underwear to church, telling them to avoid wearing the garments in order to be closer to God.

The pastor, described only as the Rev. Njohi by The Kenyan Daily Post, reportedly asked his female congregants at the Lord's Propeller Redemption church in Dandora to arrive at Sunday's service without underwear or bras. The pastor's reasoning was that the undergarments are "ungodly," and people need to be "free in 'body' and 'spirit' to receive Christ," according to the local newspaper. The church is located in an eastern suburb of Nairobi.

According to Nigerian Watch, the pastor also said he made the new rule for women so God can enter their bodies easily. The pastor added that women who continue to wear undergarments to church will suffer "dire consequences," and encouraged mothers attending his services to check their daughters to make sure they had obeyed the new rule.

[,,,]
Njohi has received media attention for his strange new rule, and some are not pleased with the pastor's edict, arguing that it is an attempt to take advantage of women under the ruse that they are doing something godly.



Kenyan Pastor Bans Female Congregants From Wearing Underwear in Church