As you enter the gates of this church in Ruiru on a Sunday around 11 am, praises rent the air. It would have been a common scene replicated in many churches across Kenya as the man of the cloth, Duncan Mbogo, walks to the pulpit. But it isn't.
The congregation is attentive, perhaps keener than normal, as Bishop Mbogo greets them and says a prayer. Around his waist, his amplifier is seated on his right side.
A microphone that runs from the right ear, rests close to his mouth and is connected to the amplifier. On his right hand, and as he speaks, he presses a small gadget (electrolarynx, which is a battery-operated machine that produces sound to create a voice) that is hung on his neck.
At the age of 42, Bishop Mbogo battled persistent voice hoarseness that made him swallow numerous anti-allergic cold/flu medicines. Tired of taking medicines with no change, he sought help from an ear, nose and throat (ENT) consultant who after several biopsies told him that both his vocal cords had been affected by throat cancer.
