A country mourns: Kiuna touched many lives

Bishop Allan Kiuna and Reverend Cathy Kiuna during SOAR Africa Leadership and Entrepreneurship Summit fireside chat dinner at Villarosa Kempinski on September 6, 2019. [File, Standard]

Renowned clergy Bishop Allan Kiuna wore many hats. From the pulpit where he shared the Gospel with vigour and zeal to his family life, he was a dedicated man.

Away from the church where many congregants revered him as Daddy, in his home, he was a caring husband and father. In the dotting eyes of his wife Reverend Kathy Kiuna, he was a visionary, hero, dance mate, soul mate and best friend. To his children, he was a superman and loving dad.

For a man born in a Nairobi slum, his rise to a towering figure was not easy.

Kiuna attended Kimathi Estate Primary School and Ofafa Jericho High School for his O levels. He joined Parklands High School for his A levels and pursued accounting at the tertiary level.

Working for a bank as a teller did not work for him and would later be part of Faith Evangelic Ministries where he met his future wife Kathy, who was a singer. The two would later get married in 1993.

The next year, he got a divine calling and after consulting with his spiritual guardian Reverend Teresia Wairimu, he founded Jubilee Christian Church together with his wife.

The late bishop never shied away from the public and had a huge following on social media. On Instagram he had 143,000 followers, on Facebook he had 186,000 followers, on X he had 42,000, while on TikTok he had 90,700 followers with several posts hitting over one million views. Each was heralded by his mission which he proudly displayed; “My Mandate and Commission is to Teach, Train and Equip the body of Christ with the word of Faith.”

He would post spiritual messages as well as social content that involved his family, especially his wife whom he would shower with praises.

Purposeful life

“I saw Kathy, and suddenly, something was stirred up on my inside,” he said. “Immediately I saw her, there and then, I knew this was my life partner. I knew that she was the right woman for me and the fact that we became very good friends made it easy for me...,” said Bishop Kiuna in a previous interview.

On Monday his last message across the social media platforms was a benediction of some sort.

“I decree God’s Grace for new levels, and new achievements is released over your life this week. Receive fresh oil and divine favour to break through into prosperous deals. I decree that in this month nothing shall stand against the manifestation of the promises of God in your life. You are coveted as you go out and as you come in. I activate divine wisdom to help you navigate through the week. I pray that the hand of God shall continually be upon you and your family. I love you, God bless you.”

For a man who pursued academic excellence after a challenging final year in high school, the late Bishop Kiuna was also a prolific author of various book titles; they include Living In Financial Distinction, Finishing Strong, and Anointed For The Market Place.  He co-authored, with Reverent Kathy, Marriage Works and Appointment with Destiny. In May he launched the third series of his book Think On These Things.

Using his personal experiences, the late bishop would talk about his marriage and the journey to where they are. 

“Nothing prepares you for the journey of marriage like The Process. It is through the process that both of you go through moulding, melting, being broken, and being fixed. Being isolated for the calling and being joined for purpose. In this process, we have laughed, we have cried, we have hoped, we have decreed, we have believed even when everything told us to give up. We have stood even when various foundations around us shook.

“We have pressed through, and even when we should have fainted, the Lord refreshed us. And Lord, we are grateful for it all! Thank you for showing us mercy. Thank you for holding us together and for giving us victory,” he posted on his socials.

When it came to unwinding, he was a golfer and he never shied away from an online jest and years ago, he created a buzz on X. This came after he tweeted, “Having a wonderful golfing day in Pretoria. As haters hate, I am enjoying the goodness of God. Love y’all n c u Sunday.” This tweet was complete with a photo of the Bishop holding his golf bag. He would later change the tweet to, “Had an amazing day golfing in Pretoria. Beautiful country and wonderful people. Enjoyed doing ministry @JccJoburg.”

He was also an avid Formula One fan and in May, he posted that he was following the Miami GP on the X platform.

He was diagnosed with multiple myeloma cancer in 2018/2019 and had been undergoing treatment in the US, an expensive undertaking which he said was taken care of by friends.