Mother sues her former church, claims she was made to lie to fix pastor

If judges were playwrights, then a woman whom we name Phyllis would be a thespian, troubled by the guilt of alleged lying but cannot find solace in the gods, so she runs into the law of men to seek solace.

We have changed the name of the petitioner for ethical purposes.

Her opponent, a church, stands accused of being the source of her predicament in an alleged larger plot of ousting her shepherd from the congregation.

Phyllis, in her case filed before High Court Judge David Mburu, has sued the Seventh-Day Adventist Church (East Africa).

She is a mother of one, and that is where the intriguing case stems from.  Phyllis states that she has reluctantly approached the seat of justice, with conviction but not hate against her former church.

 The woman explains she found faith and was baptized as a Seventh-day believer. She, however, expresses her pain, saying she is now entangled in something that went beyond a normal church flock difference.

Phyllis insists that she is ready to take the witness stand, take a Bible and tell her truth, which should be tested by questions from the church’s lawyers. Phyllis claims she had held the truth far too long.

“ I seek neither vengeance nor an opportunity to embarrass my former Church. I seek the protection of the Constitution because, in my understanding, what happened to me went far beyond an ordinary disagreement between church members. have carried the burden of that truth for far too long. I understand the seriousness of the allegations I am making. I make this Affidavit so that the truth of what happened to me may finally be examined openly, lawfully and impartially,” she states.

 Phyllis narrates that she was previously a member of another church before joining  SDA sometime between 2018 and 2019. She adds that after, she knew a pastor whom we also code-name Yohana, who was then one of the church’s shepherds.

 According to her, there was no intimacy between her and the man of the cloth. Instead, she said her daughter was from another man whom she also knew during her joining the church.

Phyllis narrates that sometime in April or May last year, a rumour started, allegedly from one congregant, whom she identified as being involved in evangelistic activities Yohana had conceived the child with her.

“That assertion was false,” she avers, adding that the congregant then approached her with a proposition that she should fix the pastor. For this, she further claims, he allegedly dangled niceties, including money and a promise to assist her return to school and get her some employment.

Some Sh 5000, she claims, was handed to the congregant to bring her to the place of accusing the pastor. She further claims that a secretary to one of the SDA’s senior church’s was central to what followed.

“The overall message conveyed to me was simple: if I cooperated and stated that Pastor Yohana had fathered my child, assistance and benefits would follow,” she says, adding that she now regrets being drawn into it.

Phyllis narrates that on the day Yohana was to be on trial, she travelled with the congregant and the child to the secretary’s residence. She claims that her mobile phone was allegedly taken away and the child was also separated from her.

She also alleges that her hosts were emphatic that she could only get her communication gadget back and her child if she complied with the alleged plot. “The use of my child was particularly effective,” she states, adding that psychologically she was trapped, but morally she knew she was being told to lie.

“ Yet I wanted my child,” she continues.

Phyllis narrates that she was first taken for a first-round interrogation, then was presented to a congregation and pressed on the same question. She insisted that, with a straight face, the alleged pastor was the father; her heart bemoaned telling the lie.

“They could not necessarily see the fear, confinement and pressure which I  say preceded those minutes. My words may have sounded voluntary to those seated in the committee room. They were not, in my heart and experience, the words of a free woman,” she claims.

 Phyllis adds that her daughter was also drawn into the saga. She too, according to her court papers exclusively seen by The Standard on Saturday, claimed Yohana was her father. Phyllis says she regrets that she exposed her daughter’s innocence at the altar of lies. She claims the minor was coached.

“During the meeting, my child was placed close to one of the pastors, and I  could not hear everything that she was being asked or everything she said. She could not possibly understand the adult conflict into which she had been drawn. She did not deserve to become an evidential object in a dispute concerning allegations of adultery and pastoral discipline. I deeply regret that she was exposed to those events,” she continues.

According to her court papers, the price of the alleged was Sh 7500, which was allegedly paid by the secretary. Yohana, she states, was kicked out on July 25, 2025, for a ‘ serious moral fall.’

Phyllis states that this happening ate her soul, and she reported it to the police, then sought to have a DNA test to exonerate the pastor, something which she claims the church declined to accept.

She now wants the court to find that the church was responsible for everything, including allegedly lying about its pastor and involvement of the minor in the plot was against their rights, dignity, conscience, and freedom of religion and belief.

At the same time, she wants the court to declare that the church had no right to use the false evidence, as it was allegedly procured through coercion.

Phyllis is also seeking Sh50 million for the alleged violations.

Justice Mburu directed her to serve the papers to SDA and appear for a mention on October 21, 2026. 

Inside the intriguing conflict

 - The Reluctant Petitioner: A mother codenamed  Phyllis has filed a Sh 50 million lawsuit against the Seventh-Day Adventist Church (East Africa) in

- Quest for Solace: Driven by conscience rather than hate or vengeance, she turns to the secular legal system to seek constitutional protection and expose 'her truth' after carrying the guilt of forced lies.

- The False Rumour: After Phyllis joined the church between 2018 and 2019, she claims, an evangelistic congregant allegedly started a false rumour that her shepherd, Pastor Yohana, fathered her child—even though no intimacy existed between them.

- Plot to oust the pastor: Phyllis claims a senior church official's secretary and the congregant orchestrated a plot to remove Pastor Yohana, dangling money, employment, and assistance with returning to school if Phyllis agreed to accuse him.

- The hostage trap: On the day of Yohana’s church trial, Phyllis says she was allegedly taken to the secretary’s residence, where her phone was confiscated and her young daughter was separated from her.

 - Forced Testimony: Psychologically trapped and desperate to regain her child, Phyllis claims she delivered coerced false testimony with a straight face before the committee and congregation.

   -  Child Exploitation: She also alleges her innocent minor daughter was coached and questioned directly by church leadership to state that Yohana was her father.

- Pastor’s Ouster: Based on the fabricated claims, Pastor Yohana was ousted from the ministry on July 25 for a "serious moral fall".

 - Seeking exoneration: Tormented by remorse over exposing her daughter’s innocence "at the altar of lies," Phyllis reported the matter to the police and offered a DNA test to clear Yohana, which the church refused to accept.

  - Legal reckoning: Phyllis is asking the court to invalidate the coerced evidence, declare the church responsible for violating her family's rights and dignity, and award compensation, with court proceedings scheduled for October 2026