Posts Tagged ‘missionaries’
The Story of Missionaries Celeste Davis and Husband Loren Davis Revisited
Posted by: afrowrite on: August 4, 2008
By Muli wa Kyendo
JB seems to be having a problem deciding whether my story about Meru is accurate because, according to JB (see comments), Wikipedia gives different facts. On that basis, JB seems to think that my comment in this blog dated May 18, 2008 and entitled “These Davises Are Latter Day Ananiases” must be either biased or false.
JB says, “ I do not subscribe to the ideas of the Davises at all but your time line on the accessibility of Meru is in question as their (the Davises’s) letter was in 1997 and Wikipedia insinuates it was in deed hard to access (Meru) till 2004. Also you list the population as more than 5 times the Wikipedia article. Just interested in truth.”
Like you, JB, I am also interested in truth, which is why I wrote the comment when the Davises launched what I considered a malicious internet campaign against American presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama. I don’t know Mr. Obama, but I felt, in the interest of truth, we should let the world know the character of the Davises. But were my facts accurate? Definitely, yes. Those interested can read or re-read my comments.
I said in my Afrowrite that Meru is a large town with a population of some 250,000. Wikipedia says the town had a population of 42,677 by 1999. Since the years we refer to are different, naturally the population figures will differ. Mine is current—in deed, more than 10 years later. It’s bound to be higher. You could fault me only if we referred to the same year’s figures or if my figure was small than that of Wikipedia.
Two, JB, you seem to confuse the description given by Wikipedia on climbing Mt. Kenya from the Meru side with the description about accessibility to Meru town. The author of the Wikipedia article describes himself as a tour operator and is keener on selling his mountain climbing safaris than accessing Meru town. About Meru town, he is positive. He says, “Meru (town) isn’t so much for operations for Mt. Kenya or Meru National Park, but rather a travel hub.” It cannot be a travel hub if it isn’t well-connected with functioning road network. In deed, the Wikipidea writer continues, “The town is accessible by paved road whether from the south (through Embu)…or from the north side of Mt. Kenya via Nanyuki and Timau.” That’s exactly what I said!
These Davises Are Latter Day Ananiases
Posted by: afrowrite on: May 18, 2008
Telling lies is apparently as natural as breathing for missionary Celeste Davis and husband Loren Davis
By Muli wa Kyendo
Early Christians were men of principles. They were men who would rather proffer their necks rather than tell a king a falsehood to curry favor. Sadly this is not so anymore. Lying has become the trade mark for priests and missionaries, especially those of the Celeste Davis and husband Loren Davis variety.
False Syllogism
The Davises say – truthfully or not – that they have worked in Kenya for 12 long years. They say they have been based in Meru, an areas located in the north of the Kenyan capital city of Nairobi. Using those facts as credentials, they are now, according to newspaper reports, engaged in an internet crusade to derail Mr. Barrack Obama’s US presidential campaign. The target is to exploit Obama’s Kenyan connection to damage his credibility. The argument is that Obama is close to Kenya’s Prime Minister Raila Odinga and, according to duo, Raila Odinga is a socialist and a muslim. With these “facts” the Davises now build a spurious syllogism: Barrack Obama is a relative and friend of Raila Odinga who is a socialist and a muslim. Therefore, Obama is a socialist and a muslim.
Whether such syllogism can be made or even whether Raila Odinga is a socialist and muslim or not is not my concern. My concern is whether anyone should believe this lying duo. Amazingly, it appears some Americans are believing them.
A lie that dismisses all credibility
In Kenya, the Davises are hardly known except for an incident which involved so blatant a lie as to dismiss all their other claims to credibility. The incident, which made the Davises a cause for hilarious laughter in all the newsrooms in Nairobi, happened in 1997. It concerned a letter from the Davises addressed to their donors in the US, a copy of which had leaked to journalists.
In the letter, the Davises were asking for increased funds from the donors. Outlining their need for the funds, the Davises described the “hardships” of working in Africa – and Meru in Kenya, in particular. “We work in Meru,” the letter said “a place which takes five days to reach. The roads are impassable. In many places you have to travel on a donkey.”
The truth about Meru
What made journalists laugh was the stupidity of the lie. Meru is a modern city of some 250,000 people. It is as modern as they come – storied buildings, paved streets, piped water, electricity, telephones and all the rest. In addition, it has been connected to the major towns and cities of Kenya with tarmaced roads – and even a railway line ends not far from the town – ever since the 1940s. In deed, the surrounding areas were White settler commercial farms planted with wheat which made good transport system a priority. Meru is, simply stated, one of the most developed, most accessible areas of Kenya.
Lying about 300 kilometers north of the capital city, Nairobi, Meru is reachable within three hours. I say this with authority because I have travelled there, in my own car, very often. And in deed, I have traversed the entire Meru area as a journalist investigating allegations that the cigarette manufacturer, the British American Tobacco, commonly known here as BAT, was encouraging destruction of forests by cutting down trees to cure its tobacco. The story was published in the Daily Nation, Kenya’s largest newspaper, and some newspapers in Britain.
All this is by way of showing that I am talking about a place I know very well, and that the Davises are truly elemental and chronic liars who have done more harm than good to our beautiful country.
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