Kenyans have witnessed unfolding horror stories of men of God ,from performing fake miracles to “panda mbegu”,some are now turning to their female followers.
A pastor has been sentenced for 15 years jail term for multiple rape of eight female followers some of whom believed he was God.
South Korean Pastor Lee Jae rock who denied all the charges has about 130,000 followers at the Mamin Central Church in Seoul.
Reading his ruling,judge Chung Moon-sung told the Seoul Central District Court.“unable to resist as they were subject to the accused’s absolute religious authority”.
The 75-year-old pastor’s lawyers had accused the women of lying to seek vengeance after being ex-communicated for breaching church rules.
His victims had spoken of his “divine power” and said they felt compelled to do what he asked because “he was God”.
But three of Pastor Jae rock ‘s followers went public earlier this year, as South Korea was swept with a wave of #MeToo accusations, saying he had summoned each of them to an apartment and forced them to have sex.
“I was unable to turn him down,” one of them told South Korean television. “He was more than a king. He was God,” added the woman, who had been a church member since childhood.
Religious devotion is widespread in technologically advanced South Korea, with 44 percent of people identifying themselves as believers.
Are pastors taking advantage of their naive followers?
Most belong to mainstream churches, which can accumulate wealth and influence with tens of thousands of followers donating as much as 10 percent of their income.
But fringe groups are also widespread experts say around 60 people in the country claim to be divine and some have been implicated in fraud, brainwashing, coercion, and other behaviour associated with cults worldwide.
Mr Jaerock set up the Manmin Central Church in Guro, once a poor area of Seoul, with just 12 followers in 1982. It has now grown to 130,000 members, with a spotlight-filled auditorium, sprawling headquarters, and a website replete with claims of miracle cures.