A witness shocked a Kibera court on Monday when he refused to swear on the Bible to tell the truth, calling it "the worst sin on earth".

Francis Munala called himself a "righteous son of God and a strong evangelist" at a church in Kawangware.

Swearing on the Bible would bar him from heaven, he said.

An alternative solemn promise, to tell the truth, was provided, but Munala changed some words.

“I am a man of God and I don’t follow your earthly things. I am an evangelist and taking this oath is a sin,” he said, quoting Matthew: 5:34.

"But I say unto you, swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne," the Bible says.

Interpretations differ.

Munala told the prosecution the court has been committing sins by requiring witnesses to swear on the Bible.

“Ndiposa nkaambiwa Ndugu amesababibisha majeraha kwa mwili wa jirani yangu (Consequently, I was told a brother had caused bodily harm to my neighbour),” he told the court. Prosecutor Nancy Kerubo fumed.

“My friend, stop joking. Please tell us as per your statements you wrote with the police because what you are telling us is now full of imagination," she said.

Senior principal magistrate Esther Boke told Munala the law provides an alternative way of taking the oath but when he was directed how to do it, he chose to say it in his own words.

What especially shocked the court was that Munala said, were it not for his self-control, the oath issue would have been even worse.

-The Star/Claus Masika