Kenyan criminals find hope in Christ

Kericho, Kenya – Thieves. Murderers. Anti-government rebels. Brothers in Christ.

Thirty-eight inmates at a maximum-security prison in this western Kenyan town were immersed into Christ recently, said David Tonui, principal of the Nairobi Great Commission School. It was the first time the prison, established in 1945, allowed baptisms, Tonui said.

Heavily armed guards surrounded the inmates as they walked to a brightly painted outdoor baptistery, built with funds from the Springtown Church of Christ in Texas.

“After baptism, a number of them took the podium to confess their evil activities,” Tonui said. “Some of them had served outside the country of Kenya with anti-government militia groups. Each of them is remorseful and accepts that they are in prison for the wrong that they did.”

Alumni of the Great Commission School — Isamel Sang, minister for the Kericho Church of Christ, and Eric Chepkwony — taught the Bible at the prison. After the baptisms, administrators at another prison in the Kenyan city of Nakuru contacted Chepkwony and asked him to bring the Gospel to their facility, Tonui said.

Kericho, Kenya – Thieves. Murderers. Anti-government rebels. Brothers in Christ.

Thirty-eight inmates at a maximum-security prison in this western Kenyan town were immersed into Christ recently, said David Tonui, principal of the Nairobi Great Commission School. It was the first time the prison, established in 1945, allowed baptisms, Tonui said.

Heavily armed guards surrounded the inmates as they walked to a brightly painted outdoor baptistery, built with funds from the Springtown Church of Christ in Texas.

“After baptism, a number of them took the podium to confess their evil activities,” Tonui said. “Some of them had served outside the country of Kenya with anti-government militia groups. Each of them is remorseful and accepts that they are in prison for the wrong that they did.”

Alumni of the Great Commission School — Isamel Sang, minister for the Kericho Church of Christ, and Eric Chepkwony — taught the Bible at the prison. After the baptisms, administrators at another prison in the Kenyan city of Nakuru contacted Chepkwony and asked him to bring the Gospel to their facility, Tonui said.