Worshippers in western Kenya gathered at Christmas to celebrate the birth of what they describe as the “Black Messiah,” praying before a photo of Mama Maria, a co-founder of their religious movement, Legion Maria.
Legion Maria and the “Black Messiah”
The religious movement, or Legio Maria in the Luo language, was founded in 1966. Its roots, according to the movement’s website, trace back to 1938, when a “mystic woman” reportedly delivered messages to Roman Catholics about “the incarnation of the son of God as a black man.”
One of its co-founders, Simeo Ondetto – later known as Baba Simeo Melchior – is described as the “returned son of God” and Legion Maria’s “eternal spiritual leader.”
Prophet Stephen Benson Nundu carried a framed photo of Baba Simeo Melchior during Christmas celebrations, stating, “Today is a great day, because the Virgin Mary gave birth to King Jesus in the world of black people.”
Legion Maria claims millions of followers in Kenya and across eight other African countries, including Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Deputy head of the church, Timothy Lucas Abawao, emphasized that the movement “is not a cult,” clarifying, “A cult essentially is an organisation which… believes in the leader. But we believe in Jesus Christ, and we believe in God.”
Abawao explained that “Baba Messiah came for Africans” and that followers believe he “is truly Jesus Christ,” having “taken on the colour of the Black man, so that the Black man could understand him in his own language and receive salvation.”
Other African Religious Movements
Legion Maria is not alone in featuring a black supreme being. In South Africa, followers of Isaiah Shembe view him as a messianic figure, stemming from his founding of the Nazareth Baptist Church in 1913. Despite his death in 1935, his church continues to claim several million followers.
Similarly, Simon Kimbangu is believed to have miraculously healed a sick woman in 1921, leading to the beginnings of the Kimbanguist church in the former Belgian Congo. Kimbangu spent thirty years in prison until his death in 1951 after being convicted of endangering state security and Belgian colonial order.
Nigeria’s Brotherhood of the Cross and Star considers its founder, the late Olumba Olumba Obu, to be “the Holy Spirit” and “the Triune God,” according to its website.
Odhiambo Ayanga, speaking at a Legion Maria gathering, stressed that God “came for us all,” adding, “He went for the Asian, as he went for other races… That’s why in Africa, he has to be black.”
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