Historic 100-year-old Nomiya Church set for major facelift

Memorial at Nomiya Church headquarters in Siaya County. [Courtesy]

Owalo claimed that he saw various revelations in the heavens including the observation that Arabs, Jews and Luos were the only ones allowed in.

God, Owalo said, instructed him to acknowledge that He was the only true God, and beside Him, there was no other, nor shall there be any other.

God acknowledged that man; his creation, had deviated into the worship of idols. "Go! Take a well-sharpened knife to circumcise all men. He who has an ear, let him hear and adhere but leave the disobedient alone."

Owalo made sure that this charge he got from God was written in the Nomiya Prayer Book.

The history of this church lends credence to God's supreme call that goes beyond race. Africans, especially Luos, had just experienced resident missionaries in Maseno from 1906.

Owalo was thereafter advised by his boss to acquire adequate education before launching his religious movement. He joined the Catholic Mission at Ojola in Kisumu until his beliefs, which went against the Catholic faith, became an obstacle, and he was sent away.

He then spent some time with the Muslims in Kisumu, where he was probably circumcised before moving to a CMS School in Nairobi in 1908.

He tried the Church of Scotland (PCEA) in Kikuyu around 1909. In October 1910, Owalo went to teach in Maseno, but his controversial beliefs led to his expulsion in 1912.

He was not shy to share his belief that Jesus was not of the same substance as God. He was also against monogamy, which to him was a European idea and not biblical. He was also opposed to the doctrine of the Trinity, and he believed that Jesus was just a prophet of God like him.

"He left Maseno to start his Mission to the Luos, which he later named Nomiya Luo Mission. This is the first African Independent Church in Kenya," added Oketch.

The church began by confining its ministry to the Luo community, which was in line with the colonial rule of confining churches to specific spheres of influence.

"In order to embrace the changes in the country, the church has begun to evangelize outside the Luo community. We dropped the Luo from the name and became Nomiya Church.

It is against this backdrop of rich history that the government, through the State Department for Culture and the National Museums of Kenya, has embarked on a plan to recognize the church as a historical site.