When a man is presented with only two choices, to die or to serve a deity to which he stood against, it is only a heart of dire courage that will still stand firm against that deity and this is the life story of gospel artist Dennis Nyongesa, aka Pastor Dennis.
He was born from a lineage of traditional healers who were also famous for female genital mutilation (FGM) in western region of Kenya, his grandfather had inherited the 'powers' from his great grandfather so it was only customary that he was to take over from him but this was against his will.
"My grandfather had chosen me to be his successor but my refusal to be the next in line in the practice was not taken very lightly. I'm educated so i did not wish to be part of this kind of practice especially FGM" says Dennis
Adding "So i was punished for refusing. It was traditionally a very respectable position and it would invoke a lot of fear since one had access to traditional medicines for protection and all. The spirit was sent to me but since i was fighting the calling it caused me damages through attacks which nearly killed me. I was to either accept it and go through the rituals or i would have lost my life" narrates the gospel artist.
According to him, christianity came to him as saving fate as his christian mother would always be praying to God to spare his life.
"How i survived, only God knows and it is from then that i decided to serve him with my life, and that is how i got saved. Through my salvation, my grandfather also gave his life to God and things really changed in my family. I believe my mum also played a major role since she knew God and was always praying for me," he adds.
Pastor Dennis is not only an anointed pastor but also one of the most potentially growing Gospel artists from the coast, with his latest video release wewe ni bwana, a song inspired by his salvation journey.
His aim is to reshape the gospel industry from a money minded strategy platform that has only been used for material and monetary gains into a genuine Christianity platform.
"My opinion about our gospel industry is that it needs people who are not only after money but also kingdom minded people ," says Pastor Dennis.
