Photos show preacher arrested for religious incitement in Tanzania, not 'sex church' leader in Kenya

This article is more than one year old.
Published on October 31, 2022 at 19:12
2 min read
By Erin FLANAGAN, AFP France

Social media posts shared thousands of times in several African countries, including South Africa and Nigeria, allege that a Tanzanian pastor opened a “sex church” in Kenya where people can drink alcohol and engage in lewd acts. But the claim is false: the photos show a preacher named Onesmo Machibya, based in Tanzania, who was arrested for “religious incitement” in 2018 before being deemed mentally ill and released from custody.

“A Tanzanian pastor opened a sex church in Kenya, where they drink beer, have one hour of sex with whoever is seating next to you, exchange wives & husband for sexual desire, teaching women not to be jealous when the husband want to have sex with the other ladies,” reads the caption in a Twitter post published on January 30, 2018.

A screenshot of the misleading tweet, taken on October 28, 2022

The tweet, which has been shared more than 3,600 times, shows a man in a long white robe with crosses, kissing two women, one of whom is wearing a similar outfit.

The same claim has surfaced on other platforms, including Facebook, blogs, and online tabloids.

B ut AFP Fact Check found that the allegation involving Machibya, widely known as Nabii Tito, is false.

Arrested for ‘religious incitement’

Using a reverse image search, AFP found an article by Kenyan newspaper The Standard in 2018 detailing the arrest and release of Machibya after he was deemed “mentally ill”.

The paper said the photos show Machibya kissing his wife and in-home help. The preacher was arrested in Tanzania’s capital city Dodoma for “incitement against religion” and “misleading his followers with a non-existent doctrine”. Following his detention, Machibya was declared mentally ill during a medical check-up and released in 2018.

In a video released by law enforcement, police said Machibya has no registered church but uses his house and public spaces to preach about how drinking alcohol and having an affair with his in-home help “are not sins.”

Police also said that Machibya “has been broadcasting videos and photos that condemn other religions hence propagating hate among people. He has been broadcasting these on various social media platforms while he is in nightclubs and preaching a religion that goes against the values upheld in the country.”

A YouTube account described as the “official Nabil Tito” channel posted a video on October 26, 2022, allegedly showing Machibya preaching against homosexuality in Dar es Salaam, the largest city in Tanzania. The account regularly posts videos featuring the preacher.

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