• His lavish lifestyle was perhaps manifest last December when he hosted a thanksgiving service to mark his positive treatment outcome and celebrate his 57th birthday.
• He revealed his year-long treatment cost $3 million (nearly Sh460 million, at the time), money that did not come from his pocket
Image: Courtesy
Bishop Allan Kiuna was known as the father of prosperity gospel in the country, caving out a niche as a polished stage actor with an image that appealed to the middle class.
From bringing renown preachers like Cindy Trim and musicians like Sinach, Kiuna and his wife Kathy cut a figure of well-exposed ministers. They often encouraged their followers to aim for financial success, even as they remained sticklers for church ethos.
At his Parklands Jubilee Christian Church, Kiuna would have an aide on standby to open the doors of his top of the range car for him to alight.
Another would be on hand to help him put on his coat. All the while a video recorder is rolling.
Kiuna died early this week after a long battle with cancer.
A memorial service will be held on Monday at Faith Evangelistic Ministry Family Church in Karen.
He will be buried on July 17.
He was 57 years old.
His lavish lifestyle was perhaps manifest last December when he hosted a thanksgiving service to mark his positive treatment outcome and celebrate his 57th birthday.
He revealed his year-long treatment cost $3 million (nearly Sh460 million, at the time), money that did not come from his pocket
He had just returned from the US, where he was receiving treatment and said he was cancer-free.
“For the one year that I was in the US, my treatment cost $3 million and I didn’t remove one coin from my pocket because the God of heaven provided. I did not call anyone,” Kiuna said.
The family does not shy away from parading their wealth and flashy life on social media and never shies away from being featured in celebrity blogs and gossip sites.
In 2019 when celebrating their 26 years of marriage, Kiuna commented on the trends of divorce in the country and why his marriage could be a model to many longing for lasting unions.
He said their marital longevity was a decision they made to be together forever.
Kiuna said most people have lost the value of getting married or marrying.
When he spoke to Word Is, the social life column that featured in the Star at the time, Kiuna explained how young people take marriage for granted.
High expectations lead to failure, he said.
"When the expectations don't happen, then they do not see the need to stay in the relationship anymore."
Kiuna said unfaithfulness also leads to many breakups.
He said young people cheat on each other and when a third person comes in, trouble follows.
Kiuna said society has normalised divorces and when a problem arises, most go for divorce.
"Most have run away from the church," he said.
Although marriage is about patience, people should not only look at the good times but understand there will be bad times and they need to be ready to face that reality, Kiuna said.
He said they try to talk to those who seek help from them, but it is always a choice one makes to either stay or leave.
"Even God cannot force you to be with the person you do not want. Some have come to me, I talk to them and tell them to stay, but if they have made up their mind, it is a choice to make their final decision," he said.
He said once some realise their marriages are not working, they stop going to church and even stop listening to their church leaders.
"[My long marriage] has not been a walk in the park. We have been having our ups and downs, but we decided we are in this thing for life."