‘Modern-day’ Jesus gets Africa Twitter buzzing: Kenya host, deportation hoax

Over the past weekend to much of this week, the news about a “modern-day Jesus” having visited some African countries have been topping Twitter trends in different countries.

The story has also been covered extensively by local and continental media portals. For some reason social media “forced” a situation that meant the said Jesus was in two countries at the same time.

In this article we put the trip of “Jesus” in context relative to where he really was, who he is and claims of whether he has been deported by authorities in Kenya.

South Africa or Kenya?

When reports first surfaced about Jesus’ visit, two countries were mentioned – Kenya and South Africa. Incidentally, the part about South Africa was very prominent.

The BBC for instance puts it down partly to a retweet by Julius Malema, one of the country’s most active Twitter personalities. Malema’s first retweet was on July 28 from a Twitter user who claimed a pastor from South Africa had invited Jesus to his church.

Subsequent Twitter users now posted videos and more photos of the activities of Jesus in Kenya not South Africa.

That was how the South Africa or Kenya bit was put to rest. Jesus was at one place, Kenya’s Kiserian town. The town is about 25km (15 miles) south-west of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.

Who is this “Jesus?”

According to his Facebook page, this “modern-day Jesus” goes by the real name, Michael Job, an American preacher and actor. He was in Kenya attending an interdenominational Christian event as a guest speaker.

He resides in Orlando, Florida. According to the BBC, he has been playing Jesus at The Holy Land Experience theme park, which describes itself as “a living, biblical museum.”

On Monday, he shared photos of his visit to Kenya with the caption: “I truly praise God for these awesome men and women of God of whom have served Jesus with all their heart. God has used them powerfully and they have been such a huge blessing in my life this past week. Thank you so much for blessing my life!”

Deported from Kenya?

He was in Kenya as part of a crusade dubbed the Kiserian Mega Interdenominational Crusade. The three-day event was under the theme Soul Harvest Campaign.

He was one of two guest speakers from the United States and was also labeled Actor of The Movie, The Life of Jesus. The other guest speaker was Rev. John Kipeen.

A viral story by an online portal Daily Afrika has also been widely shared on social media with the headline: “Kenya government deports Jesus, arrests pastors who invited him.”

It claims among others that the arrest was because Michael Job had been “going round taking money from Kenyans to perform miracles, secure seats for them in heaven.”

There is no confirmation of the said arrests or deportation in Kenya local media space nor is there any news to that effect from Kenya’s Immigration or security authorities.