Thieves Break Into Kirinyaga Church, Steal Ksh500,000 Sound Equipment

Thieves Break Into Kirinyaga Church, Steal Ksh500,000 Sound Equipment

KIRINYAGA, Kenya – Worshippers at Gatuto ACK Church in Kanyeki-ini Ward, Kirinyaga Central, were forced to worship without their usual sound system after thieves broke into the church and stole equipment valued at more than Ksh500,000.

The incident occurred on Saturday, August 8, when the suspects allegedly entered the church compound before gaining access to the main building.

According to church officials, the thieves broke through the compound gate before entering the building through a window and an inner door.

Among the stolen items were speakers, a bass speaker, mixer amplifier, receivers, microphones, a keyboard, connecting cables and a crossover used to operate the church’s sound system.

The break-in was discovered by a church worker who noticed that parts of the building had been tampered with.

She said she was initially confused because some of the padlocks appeared to have remained intact.

“I could not believe it after I discovered the padlocks were intact and realised that they had entered through the window.”

The theft became more apparent on Sunday when congregants arrived for worship and discovered that most of the equipment used to amplify services was missing.

Church Service Disrupted

James Macharia, who operates the church’s sound system, said most of the stolen equipment was relatively new and its absence immediately affected the service.

Without the speakers and microphones, worshippers struggled to hear the reverend and participate fully in the Sunday service.

The congregation was forced to rely largely on their voices as church leaders worked to conduct the service without the stolen equipment.

Church People’s Warden Stephen Munene said the latest break-in had raised fresh concerns about security at the church.

According to Munene, Gatuto ACK Church has been targeted by thieves on previous occasions.

He said thieves had earlier stolen the church gate and water taps in separate incidents, increasing the cost of securing and maintaining the institution.

Previous Church Thefts in Kirinyaga

The latest incident adds to concerns over thefts targeting churches in Kirinyaga County.

Previously, members of three churches in the county reported losses exceeding Ksh1 million after thieves broke into their premises and allegedly damaged or desecrated sacred items.

The affected institutions included St Joseph Catholic Church, an ACK church in Kiamangunyi and Fountain of Life Church.

Church leaders in those cases reported that the intruders targeted the facilities at night, forcing open windows before accessing different rooms.

The repeated incidents have raised questions about the security of religious institutions, particularly those that keep expensive electronic equipment on their premises.

Police Investigate Gatuto ACK Church Theft

Church officials have reported the latest theft to police, who are expected to investigate the circumstances surrounding the break-in and pursue the suspects.

Investigators will also seek to establish how the thieves gained access to the compound and whether they had information about the location of the church’s sound equipment.

Church leaders are also hoping that the stolen equipment can be recovered.

The loss has left Gatuto ACK Church facing the additional financial burden of replacing the sound system while continuing to provide regular worship services.

The incident also comes amid wider concerns over security at religious institutions in Kenya. In June, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations arrested suspects linked to an attack at All Saints’ Cathedral in Nairobi.

For Gatuto ACK Church, the immediate priority remains restoring its sound system and strengthening security around the premises to prevent similar incidents.

Police had not announced any arrests in connection with the Kirinyaga church burglary by the time of publication.

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Thieves Break Into Kirinyaga Church, Steal Ksh500,000 Sound Equipment