Limited to the cloth: Church criticise musicians who don ‘holy garments’
The church has once and again criticised musicians who don ‘holy garments’ in their videos just for entertainment. Adalla Allan delves into the hot topic
In a bid to show their creativity, local artistes have in many instances went beyond the ordinary, and sometimes, utterly overboard in both their lyrical and visual musical expressions.
Some have taken the art further by incorporating religious connotations in their lyrics, while others have chosen to don clerical costumes on their videos, a topic which as recently caused uproar among the clergy and community at large.
On August 4, 2020, rap stars Khaligraph Jones and Japesa released an Afro rap song Nyakalaga (Dholuo for all-powerful and ever-present).
In the video, the duo, plus their dancers are seen don in priestly outfits. This showcase was followed by a heated topic on social media after a pastor known as Godfrey Migwi condemned the entertainers for putting on the ‘holy garments’, which he said are and should not worn by just anyone, and that there was religious procedures that must be met before one wears the garments.
The condemnation
“Using of clergy clothing for entertainment, more so for secular songs and for personal gain, is totally wrong, and it’s time for change.
For your information, this is the highest level of insult as far as the body of Christ is concerned,” the senior pastor at the House of Hope Church in Kayole, Nairobi, took to his social media to condemn the artistes’ showing.
Migwi left no stone unturned by also summoning artiste Bahati who recently released the song Taniua featuring the gengetone group Boondocks Gang, where Bahati is seen on the video in a priestly outfit. 
“I am warning you, misguided entertainers, you are attracting curses upon your life and your generations to come; I know you’re after fame and money, but you’re completely lost, mark my words, you better repent and break the curses, God is never mocked.
Woe unto you and your generations to come after you Bahati and the one I heard he’s called Khaligraph Jones; wearing Bishops gowns is wrong,” he scathingly wrote, instructing the named musicians to take the said garments to the nearest bishop and repent.
Migwi is not the only member of the clergy who has came out to condemn the self-proclaimed best gospel artiste in Africa, Bahati.
Pastor T Mwangi aka Mr T, a gospel rapper-cum-cleric with Life Church in Limuru, had earlier criticised Bahati’s song, which has currently garnered close to 1.5 million views on YouTube.
The Maisha Finje Finje hitmaker condemned the song saying it should be removed from the public media terming it as blasphemous.
“You can joke with many things, but never touch the Word of God. The Word of God is the integrity of Zion.
I pray to God that this young man gets in his heart a part to repent. It is not in order.
Messing up with the Word of God is attracting judgment to your life. He should bring down the song if it is possible,” said Mr T.
It’s just art
A section of fans, however, believe that music is just like any other form of art and similarly, any garment can act as a costume in a music video, as gowns don’t determine Gods presence.
“Who said that God is found in clothes? Khaligraph used that gown to pass a message on how pastors are just preaching properity gospel rather than the real Word of God.
It is so ironic to see Africans worshipping a ‘colonial religion’ and forgetting everything about our traditional roots and culture, ” says music fan Kenneth Kithinji.
According to gospel artiste Evangelist Sebastien Namai, dressing up in a priest’s outfit on a music video largely depends with the message that the artiste wants to deliver with the song.
However, he condemns the musicians who only wear such garments purely for entertainment purposes, likening to an insult to the body of the Christ, which is the church.
“Well, our local artistes have been so inventive when it comes to releasing creative videos, and they deserve our thumbs up.
But what is so saddening is how some are taking it so lightly to put on the priestly garment just to entertain their fans,” he tells Spice.
He adds: “Such garments are holy and dedicated to priests, according to Exodus 28 and Ezekiel 44:16-19. However, some people wear them in films and music videos to portray a certain meaning of priesthood to the society; it all depends with the kind of message they want to deliver.”
Namai says it is not wrong for whoever wears them with a good intention to bring a certain feeling of gospel and priesthood to society.
“There is no condemnation for that, but them that wear for mockery and blasphemy or for shows with no real meaning, it is disrespect and it may attarct a curse to the person.
In the Bible, the garments were holy, meaning they were only for priests that were to serve God.
They were so powerful that they could sanctify people and that’s the reason why it is not Biblically acceptable for just anyone to put them on,” he concludes.
