Kenyan Man Narrates Abandoning His Church After Demanding Money To Bury His Brother: "Sahio Nalia"

• A man has accused local churches of turning religion into a business, sharing his story in a viral video
• After the loss of their breadwinner brother, his family faced financial demands from their church for funeral services, which they struggled to meet
• The man claimed the Catholic church they attended asked for KSh 16,000 for a priest, KSh 12,000 for a catechist, and KSh 60,000 for the choir to conduct the funeral mass

A Kenyan man has shared his reasons for stopping to attend church services.

In a trending video, he accused the churches in Kenya of commercialising faith.

He recounted an incident where his family felt neglected by their church during a time of loss.

Why man quit church

They were asked for money to hold a funeral service for his deceased brother.

"Kenyan churches are scams. So we lost our brother, and of course, a week was always enough, and the money was not enough. I don't come from a rich family, so the money was not that good money. Our late brother was the breadwinner. The first place we went to was the church. After high school. I've been on the road, but my mum and dad have been going to the church for the longest period. They've been part of that community," he narrated.

Catholic church's demands

He detailed that the Catholic church they belonged to requested KSh 16,000 for a priest’s services, KSh 12,000 for a catechist, and KSh 60,000 for the choir’s participation in the funeral.

He expressed his disappointment with the church’s insistence on immediate payment.

"So when my mum went to the church to ask the priest to come and conduct my brother's funeral service, guess what? My mum was told that if you wanted the priest to come, you would pay KSh 16,000, for the catechist, you would pay 12, and for the choir, you would pay KSh 60,000. We only raised for the catechist, as we couldn't afford for the priest.

Then the choir understood that we were struggling, and they agreed to come, telling us they would give us a discount. Tell me why a choir member would come to me at the funeral when were are still mourning to demand payment. I stopped going to church," he said.

Lady laments as her church turns her away

Separately, a lady said her church refused to help her when she approached it for help and told her to go to another church.

She lamented that the church checked its tithe records and declared that she was not qualified to be helped.

The lady said she has been worshipping in the church for 29 years and that it is a multi-million-dollar church.

Proofreading by Otukho Jackson, a multimedia journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke