Internal Conflict Rocks the African Divine Church at Its Core

A conflict and tension between two groups vying for leadership in the African Divine Church (ADC) is threatening to dismantle the church, which has existed for over seven decades.

What began as a struggle for leadership within the church under the late Reverend Gabriel Imbali over 20 years ago has turned into a significant leadership crisis under Archbishop John Chabuga.

The conflict took on a new dimension when Reverend Samuel Achaga appeared in court two years ago, seeking to have the church’s headquarters relocated to Chekalini in Kakamega County, contrary to the current location at Boyani Mission in the sub-county of Hamisi, Vihiga County.

Reverend Achaga, one of the bishops advocating for a change in the church’s leadership, blames Archbishop John Chabuga for running the church as a family enterprise.

“Our church has become a kingdom for the Chabuga family,” said Bishop Achaga.

He accused Archbishop Chabuga of financial mismanagement within the church, where leadership is dominated by Chabuga family members, thus the church’s assets are controlled by the family.

Currently, Bishop Achaga is calling on the government, through the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), to investigate corruption allegations within the church. He claims that funds raised by politicians to support the church’s construction have been misappropriated.

He also wants a change in the church’s leadership structure to allow individuals from other families to hold leadership positions, particularly the position of Archbishop.

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“Since our church was founded in 1959, the Chabuga family has always held leadership roles as bishops. The current archbishop is the founder’s grandson, who plans to pass on leadership to his son,” Bishop Achaga claimed.

Bishop Achaga proposes amending the church’s constitution to allow for more bishops under the Archbishop, as opposed to the current structure where there is only an Archbishop without subordinate bishops.

“You can’t be an Archbishop without other bishops. We want our church’s constitution amended to remove leadership by a single family and create opportunities for bishops to be under the Archbishop,” Bishop Achaga said.

However, these claims have been refuted by Archbishop Chabuga, who stated that Achaga is one of the church leaders who were dismissed for unethical behavior and bringing disgrace to the ‘body of Christ.’

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Archbishop Chabuga warned of legal action against the rebels who use the church’s uniforms and call themselves bishops of ADC.

He urged the rebels not to use the church’s facilities for their rebellious activities and to start their own churches without using the church’s emblem.

“These are rebels who we expelled from our church after being involved in all kinds of sins and bringing shame to our church. If they see flaws in our church, they should establish their own churches without using our uniforms and our buildings,” Archbishop Chabuga said.

Archbishop Chabuga warned that he would not hesitate to take legal action if they continue to use the church’s name for their own gain.