Paul David Zakayo Kivuli and the founding of the Africa Israel Church Nineveh

Before discussing the biography of Paul David Zakayo Kivuli, it is important to provide a brief background on the beginnings of Pentecostal Christianity in Kenya, for it was in this context that he was baptized and his faith nurtured. The earliest roots of Pentecostal Christianity in Kenya can be traced to Clyde Toliver Miller and his wife Lila Sturges who were associated with the Apostolic Faith Mission in Iowa, United States of America. They went to Kenya as independent missionaries. They arrived in Kisumu in 1907 in response to the perception of Africa at the time as a dark continent in need of the light of the Gospel. For a short time, they helped at the Nilotic Independent Mission (NIM) at Oganda before they purchased their own land in Nyang’ori in 1908. They moved there in 1910 and established their own mission. As a result, this is the place where the seeds of Pentecostal Christianity in Kenya were first planted.