From: frank patrick materu
By Jeremy Reynalds
Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service
NAIROBI, KENYA (ANS) — Assailants on a motorbike threw an explosive device into a church compound in southeastern Kenya on June 9, injuring 15 people.
According to a story by Morning Star News, two pastors were among the wounded from the explosion at an evangelistic service of Earthquake Miracle Ministry Church in Mrima village, near the coastal town of Likoni, Mombasa District.
That according to David Njoroge, pastor of the Worldwide Gospel Church.
Assistant Pastor Collins Maseno had both legs broken in the blast, and is in critical condition.
Senior Pastor Dominic Osano suffered serious injuries to his hand and the back of his neck, Njoroge told Morning Star News.
“The Christians living around the scene of the incident are still in shock and are wondering as to the mission behind the attack, while several pastors looked demoralized,” Njoroge said. “But others said prayers will help them stand strong in sharing the Christian faith.”
The blast occurred at 7 p.m., he said, adding that the weapon appeared to be a home-made fuel bomb, though area press quoted police as saying it was a hand grenade. A 10-year-old boy, Dominic Maseno, was reportedly among the injured.
Morning Star News said Islamic extremists from Somalia’s rebel Al Shabaab group have been suspected in previous attacks in the coastal areas of Kenya, and 45 pastors have met with government officials to discuss security. The provincial police commissioner, the officer in charge of police, the district commissioner and a county commissioner attended.
The officials accepted the pastors’ request that the government provide security during such Christian gatherings, Njoroge said.
At the same time, Morning Star News reported, the parties agreed that Christian meetings are to end before 6 p.m., he said. The commissioner told the pastors they must keep watch for extremists and report suspected militia groups.
Mombasa police said they were searching for the assailants.
In Nairobi, suspected Al Shabaab members reportedly tossed a grenade into a crowd in the Majengo area of the capital’s largely Somali-immigrant area of Eastleigh, injuring four.
Morning Star
News said Kenyan churches and other facilities have been the target of several bombings and shootings. That’s since Kenya sent troops into southern Somalia in Oct. 2011 in response to kidnappings and other attacks by Al Shabaab rebels from Somalia.
African Union Mission in Somalia forces have been battling the insurgents in Somalia, and northern and coastal areas of Kenya have become places of refuge for retreating rebels.
Morning Star News reported that many Al Shabaab rebels, said to have ties with Al Qaeda, have taken refuge in Garissa in northern Kenya.
Chaplain Julius Mukonzi was killed and 11 others were injured on Nov. 4, when suspected Islamic extremists tossed an explosive device at a church in the Administrative Police compound in Garissa.
At the same time, Morning Star News said, a separatist group known as the Mombasa Republic Council has also been accused of mounting attacks in Kenya’s coastal regions, according to Agence France-Presse.
On Sept. 30, 2012, suspected Al Shabaab militants threw a grenade into an Anglican church in Nairobi that killed 9-year-old Ian John Maina. Several other children attending a Sunday school class were seriously injured in the attack on the Anglican Church of Kenya St. Polycarp in the Pagani area, next to Eastleigh.
Morning Star News said Al Shabaab, which has been designated a terrorist organization by several Western governments, wants to impose a strict version of sharia (Islamic law) on Somalia.
Kenya is nearly 83 percent Christian and 8.32 percent Muslim, according to Operation World.
Morning Star News is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation whose mission is to inform those in the free world, and in countries violating religious freedom, about Christians worldwide who are persecuted for their faith
For more information go to http://morningstarnews.org http://www.joyjunction.org He has a master’s degree in communication from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in intercultural education from Biola University in Los Angeles. His newest book is “A Sheltered Life.”
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