Amref Health Africa Kenya has partnered with Yesu wa Tongaren, the self-proclaimed ‘messiah’ and ‘son of God’ in a deworming programme in Western Kenya.
Amref said it made the decision in recognition of the critical role religion and spirituality play in people’s medical decisions.
“In the fight to control and eliminate Neglected Tropical Diseases, the Deworming Innovation Fund Programme in Western Kenya has partnered with unlikely champions to ensure all eligible populations are reached with our interventions,” Amref said on X.
The organisation said the partnership will see Yesu wa Tongaren’s congregants included during the community-wide treatment exercises, targeting intestinal worms and bilharzia.
“This was key because of drug hesitancy and resistance from the sect’s members during previous treatment exercises and in keeping with the spirit of reaching the unreached as part of Universal Health Coverage,” Amref added.
Yesu wa Tongaren, the Bungoma-based preacher whose real name is Eliud Wekesa, came to the limelight in 2023 when he was summoned by police.
Bungoma Principal Magistrate Tom Olando on May 16, 2023 ordered his release after police failed to prove claims of cultism against his New Jerusalem Church.
He had been accused of running a religious cult in Tongaren, purporting to be Jesus Christ, teaching radical ideologies to his followers, promoting money laundering and acquisition, possession or use of proceeds of crime.
The prosecution asked the magistrate to release the accused and close the case affirming that findings by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) did not offer any grounds to implicate him.
During the hearing, Yesu wa Tongaren expressed his disappointment with the arrest and false accusations labelled against him.
He noted that he fully complied with the investigators for the truth to be unveiled.
