Two members of a Sydney-based religious group fear they will be thrown in jail today when they face a Kenyan court on abduction charges. Roland and Susan Gianstefani will appear in court in Nairobi, three months after being accused of kidnapping the daughter of a wealthy Kenyan businessman. But their alleged victim, Betty Njoroge, denies she was abducted and says her father had the Australians arrested to keep her from joining the sect.
The group's leader, David McKay, said the couple (pictured with their son in London last year) had been told authorities could repeatedly adjourn the case, possibly for years, leaving them trapped in Kenya because their passports had been confiscated. Mr McKay created the Jesus Christians group in the early 1980s. Members believe in voluntary poverty and are asked to give up their possessions or share them.
