International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume III, Issue XII, December 2019 | ISSN 2454–6186

Prophetism in African Christianity: A Phenomenological Study of Prophet David Owuor

Edmond Okelloh Ogera
 PhD in religious Studies Candidate at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa

Abstract: – This is a phenomenological study of one of the largest Neo-Prophetic Movements in Kenya. This movement known as Repentance and Holiness Ministry led by renowned Prophet Dr. David Edward Owuor, which has captured the public imagination and attention in Kenya. The paper examines the stages in the phenomenological method of inquiry as espoused by James Cox, before describing and explaining the phenomenon of prophecy as propagated by prophet Owuor and his movement.

Key words: Prophecy, Phenomenology, Miracle, Forth-telling.

I. INTRODUCTION

Prophecy as a paradigm for ministry has gained popularity in African Christianity, and is upheld by Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches. No wonder today, prophets seem to be springing up from within various Christian persuasions either publicly or secretly, almost on a daily basis and everywhere. These prophets appear in all manner and characteristics, and sometimes their claims border on the absurd to the out rightly ridiculous. Writing for a Zimbwabean context, Hameno says:
The prophetic activities that are reported range from the bizarre to the outrageous and sometimes immoral or even criminal. Bizarre claims of being able to make a person pregnant and deliver a baby in three days (“Harare Woman: I had a Miracle Baby,” 2013) or being able to produce miracle money which appears from nowhere and is found in one’s pocket or bank account (Nyoni, 2013) are the order of the day.
Other than the many claims they have been able to make, bizarre incidents have been reported around some of the renowned prophets in Africa. For example in Kenya, there were media reports at the beginning of this year of six people who had attended Prophet David Owuor’s crusade, ostensibly to receive miraculous cures from various ailments, only to end up dying of natural causes . In Nigeria, people from South Africa who were attending Prophet T. b. Joshua’s Synagogue Church Of All Nations (SCOAN) died when a building they were house in collapsed, killing seventy people.