Tonny Onyulo
Tonny Onyulo is an author at Religion News Service.
All Stories by Tonny Onyulo
Members of shuttered Rwandan churches gather in homes as leaders quietly protest
By Tonny Onyulo — September 5, 2024
(RNS) — After a crackdown on unapproved churches, Christian leaders say the government's move encroaches on religious freedom and applies regulations unequally.
A priest’s kidnapping in South Sudan heightens fear among clergy in the country
By Tonny Onyulo — May 22, 2024
JUBA, South Sudan (RNS) — Dozens of church leaders have been kidnapped or killed by government soldiers or rebel fighters in the decade since the civil war began.
Ugandan faith leaders work to confront increase in gender-based violence
By Tonny Onyulo — May 8, 2024
BUPOTO, Uganda (RNS) — ‘We need to work together if we are to end gender-based violence. We need to involve the government, NGOs, parents, community leaders, women and girls,’ said one evangelist.
Islamist Nigerian militants press attacks against Christians to foment religious war
By Tonny Onyulo — February 23, 2024
ABUJA, Nigeria (RNS) — The militants 'want to use religion to achieve their target of destabilizing the country and establishing an Islamic state,' said a local evangelical Christian pastor.
Catholic clergy in Uganda accuse the West of a new colonialism through LGBTQ activism
By Tonny Onyulo — January 25, 2024
KAMPALA, Uganda (RNS) — Most Ugandan Catholics oppose Pope Francis' recent move to allow priests to administer blessings to same-sex couples.
Congolese faith leaders step up efforts to promote dialogue among warring groups
By Tonny Onyulo — November 7, 2023
GOMA, Congo (RNS) — Church leaders are conducting weekly workshops to train traditional and church leadership in how to promote peace in their communities.
South Sudanese refugees, fleeing a second civil war in Sudan, return home to bleak prospects
By Tonny Onyulo — September 28, 2023
MALAKAL, South Sudan (RNS) — The situation has prompted religious leaders in South Sudan to appeal to the international community to aid returning refugees.
Amid deadly resurgence, Tanzanian officials maintain they can pray the ‘coronavirus devil’ away
By Tonny Onyulo — March 12, 2021
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (RNS) — Some religious leaders have even proclaimed the country free of the coronavirus because of the power of prayer. Meanwhile, the government has refused to report any data on the number of cases in the country.
Pentecostal pastors vow to fight proposed Uganda church regulations in court
By Tonny Onyulo — April 30, 2019
KAMPALA, Uganda (RNS) — Pentecostal pastors in Uganda vow to fight new rules that would require clergy to have formal theological education and would force all churches to register or close down. The proposed policy mimics similar rules enacted in Rwanda in 2018.
Rastafarianism, promising freedom, spreads among African youth
By Tonny Onyulo — April 17, 2019
NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — A faith that originated in the Caribbean islands has drawn many adherents through its social justice and anti-colonialist messages.
Kenyan United Methodists oppose allowing LGBT clergy, pray for church unity worldwide
By Tonny Onyulo — February 18, 2019
NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — United Methodist bishops in Africa want to keep the denomination's ban of LGBT clergy in place. But they also want the United Methodist Church to stay together no matter what happens at the upcoming General Conference in St. Louis. Delegates at that meeting will discuss possible changes to the denomination's rules.
Conflict between brothers splits Uganda’s thriving Abayudaya Jewish community
By Tonny Onyulo — January 31, 2019
MBALE, Uganda (RNS) — A conflict between two brothers over money and religious practice is splitting Uganda's century-old Abayudaya Jewish community.
Christian workers in Somalia worship in secret, fear al-Shabab
By Tonny Onyulo — January 7, 2019
MOGADISHU, Somalia (RNS) — Hundreds of Christians in Somalia, mostly foreigners from nearby countries, worship in secret out of fear of Muslim extremists.
Pushed by politicians, polygamy enjoys a heyday among Christians in Kenya
By Tonny Onyulo — January 4, 2019
NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — Despite opposition from local Catholic church leaders, young and old men have taken advantage of a 4-year-old law liberalizing the practice.
In Kenya, Pentecostal Christian moms tell husbands that girls are as good as boys
By Tonny Onyulo — November 16, 2018
BUNGOMA, Kenya (RNS) — Traditional culture here demands that women bear sons, but religious leaders say it's time for people to see that in God's eyes, both genders have equal worth.
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