BISHOP KIENGEI ISSUES APOLOGY TO PRITTY VISHY FOR INSENSITIVE COMMENTS

Bishop Ben Kiengei of JCM Church has issued a public apology to digital content creator Purity Vishieno, known as Pritty Vishy, after making inappropriate remarks about her appearance during a recent show. 

On Tuesday, September 3, 2024, the radio host acknowledged his mistake, admitting that his comments were out of line and hurtful. In his statement, the bishop asked Pritty for forgiveness, “I am really sorry, and I take this moment to highly apologise for mentioning your name in a show where I went overboard and mentioned you in the wrong way. Get a space in your heart to forgive me for addressing you in the wrong way,” he said. “This will never happen in the future; I take it as my mistake. Pole my sister na karibu sana JCM Church kanisa la watu wote.” 

The apology follows backlash from the public after a viral video surfaced in which Bishop Ben humorously body-shamed Pritty by comparing her to his wife. The content creator said the the bishop’s words deeply affected her. “I have been receiving a lot of tags from this video. I didn’t understand walikuwa wanaongea Kikuyu, and in the comment section, people were saying it was not good, but nikiangalia the lady beside him was giggling, nikajiambia hii sio mbaya. But people decided to tag me more, so I decided to ask my friends,” she explained. 

“My friends told me he was body-shaming you. I heard my name and that of my ex, and I got curious. This pastor was saying how ugly, fat, and unattractive I am, and he went ahead and called my ex the same.” In response to the video, Pritty threatened to confront the bishop in person at his church. “That video got me wondering, huyu msee ni Bishop Ben wa JCM? Watu wengine walikuwa wakinitusi na kusema this is just normal people, but you are an eye to someone. You are a father, you are like the eye of God. I will locate your church this Sunday, and I’m coming to your church, and I want you to tell me the same words kwa macho yangu and I want you to say it at the altar,” she added. 

Despite the written apology from the bishop, Pritty rejected it, insisting that the apology should be delivered in the same manner as the offensive remarks. “When you widely opened your mouth to abuse me, did you send your assistant, ama ni yeye alikuandikia line? If you wanna talk to me, talk to me directly, and before that, I don’t want a written apology. I want a video, the same way you sat down and made that disrespectful video, do the same on the apology…don’t send people to me kwani walikusaidia kucheka?” she stated.