Now the Tax man Want His Cut

As need turned to greed over donation money, the fluid issues has not taken a new twist, the Internal Revenue Service is asking for their cut.

According to documents obtained by the Promise, three people have been asked to head down to the internal revenue office. The core of their beef with the Tax man is that their donations that they claim on last year’s taxes that they gave to the church have no supporting documents.

“I am as mad as hell, we may lose our home” said one of the three who asked for anonymity. According to the three, they all share the same grief. Although they claim to have given the church money totaling 1500 dollars, thy never received any proof of donation of their money from the church for any money above 500.00 according to the parties.

The promise will keep the blog updated as the fast moving events unfold.

Another Donation Row Twist; Mugo Withdraws Lawsuit. Countersuit Pending

As the two sides’ stared reality and the dare of brinkmanship to a tee, Mr. Mugo finally went last week to Collin County Court and withdrew his demand for 10,000 dollars. But the story’s climatic ending is also a beginning of another phase of counter lawsuits.

The idea of churches settling their dispute in public courts of law over donation money in itself sounds to many leaders as dumb as dumb can be. When I had a conversation with Bishop Herzog, he reiterated that he has faith that the court system will administer American justice that all parties can live with.

From Texas to Massachusetts and to the plains of Tennessee, every time Kenyan churches have any issues where thousands of dollars are involved, it has become a common occurrence to see smartly dressed Caucasian males ready to consult and give “advice”. The sad thing is that all these churches do not have a single person who is of color, but they only show up to give their expertise to stupid Africans when their bottom-line is threatened. The scene was the same when Mr. Ngobia and Trinity Rector Rev. Bill Lovell wrote a letter to anyone they could think of to resolve their conflict with Mugo the American way. The apple does not fall far away from the tree, so when Mr. Mugo felt he had issues to address; your instincts dictate that you stick with what you know. How do such learned people end up with such bad consulting advice? This kind of thinking is best explained through the story of the shepherd and the Yuppie. As the story goes, a shepherd was herding his flock in a remote pasture when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced out of the dust cloud towards him. The driver, a young man in a Broni suit, Gucci shoes, Ray Ban sunglasses and YSL tie, leaned out the window and asked the shepherd, and tells him; "If I tell you exactly how many sheep you have in your flock, will you give me one?" The shepherd looked at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looked at his peacefully-grazing flock and calmly answered, "Sure."

The yuppie parked his car, whipped out his IBM Think pad and connected it to a cell phone, then he surfed to a NASA page on the Internet where he called up a GPS satellite navigation system, scanned the area, and then opened up a database and an Excel spreadsheet with complex formulas. He sent an email on his Blackberry and, after a few minutes, received a response. Finally, he prints out a 150 page report on his hi- tech, miniaturized printer then turns to the shepherd and says, "You have exactly 1,586 sheep". "That is correct, take one of the sheep," said the shepherd.

He watches the young man select one of the animals and bundle it into his car. Then the shepherd says: "If I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my sheep?" "OK, why not," answered the young man. "Clearly, you are a consultant" said the shepherd. "That's correct," says the yuppie, "but how did you guess that?" "No guessing required," answers the shepherd. "You turned up here, although nobody called you. You want to get paid for an answer I already knew, to a question I never asked, and you don't know crap about my business. Now give me back my dog".

The reason why their deranged advice ends up in to the dogs is because they are advising Africans that they barely know. They do not come to our birthdays or soccer games. They do not know us. These crowns of white advisers only show up when the green Benjamin’s are stake.

I asked the same recorded question to Bishop Herzog if he has any interest or stake in the 10,000 dollars or the money in the churches’ kitty. Of course he said he has none. But as details from the public domain emerge, Herzog and his organization receive 200.00 dollars every Sunday from every church he “plants”. I am not good in math, but that sounds like 800 per month. If you “plant” twenty churches, well you get the picture of why people in funny huts only show up every time an African dispute involves real dollars.

As we wait for the counter lawsuits to take hold, let’s hope that we have learnt from this community leaders how not to settle disputes in our communities.

http://www.ajabuafrica.com/Faith-Kenyan%20Pastor%20to%20face%20Criminal%20probe%20for%20Sexual%20Abuse.html

Lawsuits over Donation Money Turns into Counter Lawsuits

As the new saga of the donation money take twists and turns, the initial lawsuits has turned into counter lawsuits over the donation money.

Two former officials have secured attorneys in a bid to sue the Anglican church organization for damages arising from defamation and what one of the lawyers believes that the Anglican church can be held liable through what he called vicarious responsibility.

As the legal mind explained, Vicarious liability is a form liability that arises under the common law where the superior is held liable  for the acts of their subordinate, or, in a broader sense, the responsibility of any third party that had the "right, ability or duty to control" the activities of a violator. In broader sense, the Anglican Church can be held liable by what they know or should have known about the acts of their pastor. Below is the filing by Mr. Mugo demanding the 10,000 dollars, even though he already received a total of 6,400 from three of the churches that had received part of the 1700.00 shared between the five churches.

Case Number 01-SC-10-00313 Date Filed: 12/10/2010 Case Type: CV - Small Claims  Status: Filed Style: St Matthews Anglican Church vs. Peter Kanyiri Judicial Officer: Raleeh, Paul M. in Precinct 1

Parties

Type Name DOB Address  Attorney Defendant Kanyiri, Peter Plaintiff St Matthew's Anglican Church 1714 N. Story Rd, Irving, TX 75061

Cause of action
File Date Cause Description Parcel Number Remedy Sought Remedy Amount 12/10/2010 Monetary $10,000.00

 

Financial Summary
Plaintiff
Charges  : $86.00
Payments: $86.00
Balance   : $0.00

Pastor Mugo Donation Money Row Takes another Turn, Lawyers will have Final Say.

As the situation of 10,000 dollars donation money that Pastor John Mugo Mwangi is suing to get back took another turn when the defendant enlisted the services of a local lawyer on his defense.

The trial date which was scheduled for March 23 has been postponed to enable the Attorney to prepare a good defense for his client. At stake is 10,000 dollars that was raised to bond out Mr. Mugo from jail. Mr. Mugo in his brief claims that the money that was contributed when he was in jail to bond him out but later divided among the major churches that contributed the money technically belongs to him, and he is suing to get it back, forget the point that the money was contributed by people he does not know when he was in jail!

But the fight for 10,000 is peanuts compared to what is going on in a small town called Lowell, Massachusetts. The fight is for who was the claim of the churches kitty for 200,000. Mr. Karimi, the former Pastor, was convicted for sexual misconduct, and several women have come forward claiming that the the man of the cloth is actually, a sexual predator.

According to the website Ajabu Africa he Kenyan Community Presbyterian church (Ushindi) enters a new phase tomorrow after Dr. Mumbui Karimi and some of the newly elected directors filed a motion for a temporary order restraining Wilson Wachira (former chairman of finance), Joyce Gathoni (former secretary) and Bank of America as the trustee of church funds from making any transactions using the church funds. The order was filed on Thursday last week (March 3), at the Superior court in Woburn, Massachusetts.

I know many people are asking the same question; what has happened to our church leaders today. Are the courts the best venue to resolve our disputes, when the lawyers have no intention of settling the disputes in the first place when they are being paid on contingency bases? When all the motions and discoveries are requested on both sides, and records and financial statements are subpoenaed and witness depositions taken, the truth of the matter will finally come out. There is also another possibility that the public will end up knowing the naked truth that we wished we never knew about people of the cloth and money.

How the Mental Patients Are Treated in Kenya

Mental Patients in Kenya
The tin shack looks like any other in a patch of small plots on the dusty outskirts of Nairobi. It's the haunting sound that grabs you, the awful moaning and cries coming from within.
It's Thomas Matoke's home. But it's more like a cell. Matoke, 33, is tied to a steel bedframe with a piece of blue rope. He's surrounded by pools of his urine, his mattress soiled and ripped to shreds.
His moans are interrupted when he chews his hand or the bedframe. He can't speak to tell his mother what he wants or feels. He's alone in his world of screams and agony.
He's been like this for 30 years.
Matoke got ill when he was a toddler and lost much of his high-level functioning. So his mother ties him up to prevent him from running away or hurting himself.
Countless trips to doctors and hospitals haven't helped him. And poverty means there isn't much medical help his family can afford.
"His siblings ask whether we wronged God, because we are really suffering," said his mom, Milkah Moraa. "I can't even hang his clothes outside because of the stink. The neighbors complain."

Joseph's grim story

Mental health patients locked away

CNN crew locked in hospital by medics

The policy is very clear. Mental health services are a priority. ... The practice is also clear. They are not.
--Dr. Frank Njenga

RELATED TOPICS

• Kenya
• Mental Health

Shunned by the community, Moraa does what little she can to ease his agony. Her life is consumed by trying to take care of her sick son.
But Matoke is not alone.
There are an estimated 3 million, mostly poor, Kenyans living with intellectual and mental disabilities, according to NGO and United Nations figures.
As part of a special investigation, CNN found that families are struggling to cope with their loved ones, receiving little help from the state and facing massive stigma from society.
CNN's team filmed families locking up their loved ones, children discarded by institutions, cases of suspected sexual abuse. Kenya faces an epidemic of neglect.
"It is such a huge problem," said Edah Maina, head of the Kenya Society for the Mentally Handicapped. "If somebody would understand the extent it is huge, then I think someone can begin to act."
But often, Maina and her charity are the only ones acting. Scores of cases of neglect and abuse flood their office every day: autistic children chained in chicken coops, epileptic adults sealed in filthy shacks, daughters raped by their fathers. They are overwhelmed.
Dr. Frank Njenga, president of the African Association of Psychiatrists and a leading expert in the field, believes the scale is "catastrophic."
"We as a people have perfected the system of hiding our friends, relatives and other loved ones who have intellectual disability away from sight," Njenga said. "Out of sight, out of mind, no funding, neglected completely."
He says that the greatest neglect comes from the Kenyan government.
How teenager Kennedy survives
The Kenyan government spends less than 1% of its health budget on mental health, though its own figures show that one-quarter of all patients going to hospitals or clinics complain of mental health issues.
And the Health and Medical Services ministries have been plagued by a series of corruption scandals in recent years.
More than $3 billion in public money was stolen in 2009, according to the Kenyan Ministry of Finance. This could have funded the entire ministry responsible for mental health -- for 10 years.
The minister of medical services, Anyang Nyong'o, says mental health is a high priority, but it needs more funding from his central government.

Pastor Jailed for 5 years for Sexual Abuse

From the wires, Ajabu Africa News, posted FEB 25, 2011

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va_A Kenyan priest in Virginia pleaded guilty for sexually abusing an 11 year old girl and was consequently jailed for 5 years and nine months. However, Fr. Felix C. Owino’s 5 year sentence was suspended by the judge and ordered Owino to jail for nine months after a plea deal .He was given credit for the seven months he has already been in custody.

The sentencing took place last week on Friday, February 18 2011, in fairfax, Virginia.
                             Prosecutors said the Rev. Felix Owino, 44, was drinking the night he inappropriately touched an 11-year-old girl at a friend’s house in Herndon, Va. where he had been invited as a guest.

During the trial that took place late last year,Father Owino pleaded guilty to the charge.

"I did what they said," Owino told a Fairfax County, Va., judge in a soft-spoken voice.At the time, it was saif that if the judge approved the plea agreement, Owino won't serve more than five years in prison.

Officials said Owino also faces deportation back to his home country of Kenya.Owino most recently served as an associate pastor at St. Paul's parish in Weirton. Until June, he was also a faculty member in the philosophy department of Wheeling Jesuit University.

He was charged with one count of aggravated sexual battery stemming from a July 7 incident involving a child in Herndon, Va. Police said they were called to a home after a family reported Owino -- their house guest and longtime friend -- inappropriately touched a girl in their home.Prosecutors said Owino was watching a movie at the family's home when he moved to the back of the room next to the victim and rubbed the girl's hands and feet.

He then touched her in inappropriate places and told the girl, "Do not tell."The child told her mother, and the mother kicked Owino out of the house and ordered him to stay on the steps until police arrived. Prosecutors said Owino admitted he touched the girl and told police he'd not done anything like that before.

Prosecutors said the victim's family accepted the plea deal, and victims' advocates said families usually do that to protect their child from going to court.Although Owino made a plea deal with prosecutors for a maximum of 5 years, the judge made it clear the decision is ultimately up to him. He could reject the plea bargain out and give Owino the maximum sentence of 20 years.

Owino could also be deported because he's not an American citizen. Originally from Nairobi, Kenya, Owino was ordained in 1992 and is a member of the Religious Missionary Institute of the Apostles of Jesus, headquartered in Philadelphia.

He joined the faculty of Wheeling Jesuit in the fall of 2008 and taught for two consecutive terms, most recently instructed an online class. Prior to that, he worked at Magdalen College in New Hampshire and before that at Alvernia College in Reading, Pa.

The sentencing that sent Fr.Owino to jail took place last week on Friday.

Kenyan Pastor Defrocked in Boston After Sex Scandal

Kenyan Pastor Defrocked In Boston After Sex Scandal

A Kenyan Pastor in Lowell, Massachusetts have been defrocked after a sex scandal. The former Rev, Karimi was found guilty after several women came forward accusing the pastor for unwanted sexual advances. Mr. Karimi, married with children, created another firestorm when local pastors suggested a fund raising for him and prayers but refused to do the same to the victim. 
The new brewing firestorm is the fight of the church's 200,000 dollars which he believes he is entitled in the church account. The local pastors have called for a meeting on Sunday to resolve the conflict engulfing the local community of Lowell.

Donation Row Trial Date Set for March 23, 2011 in Collin County

When you think that you have heard it all, the ugly truth becomes hard to hide. After we exposed the behind the scene dealings with John Mugo Mwangi over the saga over donation money, the case is set for trial on March 23, 2011. The suit was filed by John Mugo Mwagi suing the defendant Peter Kanyiri who was the church warden. The trial for case number SC-10-313 Filed in McKinney, Texas will be tried at 10:30 am.

Mr. Mugo alleges that 10,000 was stolen from the church account when he was in jail, and he is suing for public good to recover the money. Interestingly, Mr. Mugo received 1733.00 from three churches after demanding the money that they received from Mr. Kanyiri claiming that they were his.

But who should really be suing? Is it the community that contributed the money for a course to help a jailed member of the community, or is it the individual who was in jail when all this drama was playing out?

During the trial date which is set on March 23, I would like all like minded people to come and listen how far their community leaders would fight to keep the members kitty. When documents that are subpoenaed come out to the public eye, all will have the sense to see the truth. But how do you sue for money you think you should have? Well welcome to the new diaspora .

Below is the case filing's documents

Register of Actions

Case No. 01-SC-10-00313

St Matthew'S Ang Can Church vs. Peter Kanyiri

§ § § § § Case Type: Small Claims Date Filed: 12/10/2010 Location: Precinct 1

Party Information

				Lead Attorneys
Defendant	Kanyiri, Peter
Plaintiff	St Matthew'S Ang Can Church

Events & Orders of the Court

			OTHER EVENTS AND HEARINGS
12/10/2010			Case Filed
12/10/2010			Citation Issued for Service To: Collin County Constable Pct 1
12/10/2010		Civil Citation Service Kanyiri, Peter Served 12/21/2010
12/21/2010			Citation Served
12/30/2010			Answer Filed
02/16/2011			Mailed Notice of Trial to All Parties
03/23/2011			Trial by Judge  (10:00 AM) (Judicial Officer Raleeh, Paul M.)

Financial Information

			Plaintiff St Matthew'S Ang Can Church
			Total Financial Assessment			86.00
			Total Payments and Credits			86.00
			Balance Due as of 02/22/2011			0.00
12/10/2010			Transaction Assessment			31.00
12/10/2010			Transaction Assessment			55.00
12/10/2010			Payment	Receipt # 2010-008670-JP1	ST MATTHEW'S ANG CAN CHURCH	(86.00)

Posting of Court Files

As one of the blogger has commented, it's only fair if we post the actual court papers filed by Rev. Mugo so that all the parties can understand either what is motivating him or perhaps his goal. Some people are even confused who is the defendants or the plaintiffs in this matter.

Posting of the documents will not violate Rev. Mugo's rights, because once you file a court case, it automatically becomes public record which by law is accessible to anyone. I will also post the motions filed by Rev.Mugo on a case previously filed at the High Court of Kenya, so that many of us who may not understand his moves, may at least understand his pattern and possibly his motivation.

That will give the public the chance to judge him solely on his actions. This site is a user generated site, and when you post profanity, it undermines the spirit of open communication. I hope all the commentary will stick to the facts and issues and avoid personalization albeit the high emotions involved. In the meantime, we hope all the concerned parties will do the right thing, because that is how we may avoid these actions from being repeated again.

Muigai Wa Njoroge-No Thii Githumo

Those are a Pack of Lies on Mr. Mugo; Says Bishop Herzog

The following is a reply I received from Bishop Herzog from New York, Pastor Mugo’s Bishop whom he practices his license under;

My Dear Brother and Sisters in Christ, 

The allegations from Promise are a pack of lies. Here are the facts:  

1. Rev. John jailed by INS for working while a student;

2. $10,000 required by the INS for bail;

3. On June 22, 2009 a harambee was held and $4900.00 was collected, of which 35 members of Saint Matthew's donated $2400.00. That $4900.00 was put into Saint Matthew's account;

4. On June 28 the Mercy Ministries Fellowship collected an additional
$2500.00 for the purpose to secure an attorney for Rev. John Mugo. The
collection was placed in Saint Matthew's account and the attorney was paid;

5. An additional $1500.00 was also given to a second attorney;

6. On June 24,2009, $10,000.00 was removed from Saint Matthew's account and given to the Senior Warden, Peter Kanyiri to send to INS;

7. Peter Kanyiri sent $10,000.00 to the INS with his name on the draft
instead of Saint Matthew's;
8. When the case was dismissed the INS sent a check for $10,000.00 to Peter Kanyiri since his name, and not Saint Matthew's, appeared on the original draft;

9. The refund should have been deposited in Saint Matthew's bank account and not
placed in Peter's personal account since that is where the money came from;

 10. Peter Kanyiri, on his own, decided to send Saint Matthew's money to six
Churches;

11. Presently, three of these six churches have returned the money to Saint
Matthew's account;

13 Rev. John Mugo did not and is not seeking funds for himself nor has he
requested meetings with any of the Pastors. He wants the money to be returned
to Saint Matthew's Church. (see attached email dated November 9, 2010)

Thats a Pack of Lies........Says Bishop Herzog

I had a good conversation today with the Anglican Bishop, The Rt. Rev. John A. Herzog, OSA regarding our differing opinion on the pending lawsuit against the members who bailed out Mr. Mugo from jail. We disagreed about most of the things without being disagreeable. He even asked me if I would like to run the church for him, and I graciously told him that I would like the job to be done by the experts. He also told me he has an open heart, and he is helping and has helped many Kikuyus get Green Cards. I graciously told him I don’t need one. He also told me that he has worked with Kikuyus all over the US, and I got curious to know where they are from back home. He told me that he has dealt mostly with Kikuyus from Kenya only. Well, you know let’s keep that aside for now, because it’s beside the point. From there we went down to business.

Don’t get me wrong, the issue about this blog is one, to make sure that the goodwill of the public about the funds is maintained, and the money is used for its intended use, if not, common law and common sense dictates that the money should go back to the public or an organizations that cares about the community.

For those who are new to the saga, when Pastor Mugo went to jail, the church had no funds to bail him out. So, honest Kenyans from the community came together and met in the house of one of the members and spent their personal time, resources to mobilize the community to see that one of their own was out of jail. And as they say, “…faith is no prisoner to reason”. When it comes to faith, you are allowed to be illogical. But this is a case about facts, and that’s why the community that contributed the funds needs an explanation from both the Bishop and Mr. Mugo

But according to the Bishop, get this, the money now does not belong to the community, it belongs to John Mugo wa Mwangi and company. Stop scratching your heads, which is what he said in our conversation. The minute the money was deposited in the church account to buy a cashier’s check to bond Mugo out, he believes technically the money belongs to the church. The Bishop also told me that the church has a chancery (that is a church lawyer I suppose) who will make sure the money is refunded to Brother John as he called him). I asked him why the law suit is filed by Mugo instead of St. Mathews, to which he could not explain. I asked him if he has any financial vested interest to the churches and the moneys, to which he said no.

I went at great lengths and pains to ask the Bishop if by any chance he contributed any funds that we do not know to help in the course, to which he said NO. 

 What is my point in publishing this blog, is this the kind of a people we have now become? Anyone who came to help this man did not have the intent of the money and the funds to be used for any other program. As I told the Bishop, we already have people arrested and sitting in the Immigration jails and the money should be used for such programs, to the beneficial of the community. TECHNICALLY, lawyers can prove anything. Technically, we can say Columbus discovered America, Technically. To make my point, let me tell you a story about a behaviorist who wanted to experiment on the thinking of different professionals. And so he invited an engineer first. He walked in, sat down and received his first and only question: What is two plus two? He did not hesitate and answered “of course it is four”. The researcher thanked him and sent him away.

The second in the experiment was an architect. They posed the same question: What is two plus two? The man posed for a moment and answered: “The answer is four. However, three plus one is also four. There are many ways of looking at it”. He thanked him and dismissed him.

Lastly to walk in was a lawyer. He was asked the same question. Unlike the composed scientists, he panicked. He stood up, went to the door and shut it. Then he carried his chair close to where the researcher was. Leaning towards them he told him: “You see, two plus two can become anything. What do you want it to be?”

What is my point? The lawyers can make two plus two become seven. In other words, their interpretation of the funds will depend on where they stand. Unlike the engineer who saw the figures in absolute terms, everything around it is relative and can be interpreted anyhow depending on interest.

Technically, I told the Bishop, should Mugo be sitting in jail waiting for the brainy people to argue technically who would end up with the money once our brother gets out of jail. What will happen to the unlikely person who may be arrested and asks for community assistance? Technically, with examples like Mugo’s, technically I don’t know.