A pastor is in police custody after allegedly burning the feet of three boys he accused of stealing cakes worth Ksh80.
The boys, who are nursing severe burn wounds at the Baringo Referral Hospital, narrated how the pastor and the owner of the bakery tormented them with fire.
According to reports, the pastor caught one of the boys stealing his cakes and dragged him to the bakery where he forced his feet in to the fire before beating and forcing him to name his two other accomplices.
The preacher visited the homes of the two boys at night and went with them to the bakery where he replicated the procedure.
"He took me and put my feet in the fire, then took me outside and removed all my clothes and started beating me by hitting my head," one of the boys, who is still hospitalised, told journalists.
"He took my friend and put his legs in the fire and asked him to mention the other boy. The owner of the bakery would hold our upper body then the workers put our feet in the burning fire," the boy added.
It took the intervention of the residents, who were woken by the screams, to rescue the boys from further torture. Neighbours who rushed to the bakery found the boys naked and their feet severely burnt.
Residents stated that the pastor was not remorseful when they ambushed him and the bakery workers. They noted that the boys worked at the bakery and are paid very little money, which they use as school fees.
Others told the press that at times the owner of the bakery does not pay the boys and at times gave them cakes as wages.
"He is a pastor. Why did he take the law into his own hands? He should have taken them to the police instead of hurting them the way that he has done. I am not sure if they will be able to walk again because of the damage he has done," one of the parents stated.
The Church has been put on the spot over the bad behaviour of some of the clergymen. Kenyans have also expressed disappointment in the Church for failing to guide the flock and leading them astray in some incidents.
However, not all clergymen have been caught behaving badly. Kenyans have commended preachers such as Archbishop Anthony Muheria of the Nyeri Catholic Diocese for his teachings and compassion. The clergyman was hailed by Kenyans after a young man disrupted the funeral service of late President Mwai Kibaki.
Archbishop Muheria asked the police to be lenient with the young man, noting that he seemed disturbed by the passing of Kibaki.
