The neighbourhood around Lavington Methodist Church was thrown into confusion after clergymen at the church traded blows on Friday.

This was presented by two rival factions who were fighting over the leadership of the house of the Lord.

Two bickering groups were led by the incoming bishop Reverend Joseph Kanyamu while the rival group was led by Revered Joseph Ntombura.

Word has it that Kanyamu together with 60 congregants stormed into the church compound and forcefully gained entry into the church’s office by shattering the glass door.

Kanyamu’s team was on a mission to eject the outgoing bishop Ntommura whose term had come to a close.

What started as a heated exchange of unprintable insults between two ‘God fearing’ groups quickly escalated into a melee.

Upon realising the chaos had gotten to a different realm, the security guard sought the intervention of police and alerted officers based at the Kileleshwa Police station who responded promptly.

Leading the contingent of police officers to the church grounds were the Sub County Police Commander and the DCIO and they somewhat managed to quell the chaos or did they?

In the disarmament process of the two groups, police discovered that two of Rev Kanyamu’s men were armed with pistols.

43-year-old Kisito Matete and 36-year-old Peter Murasi were found in possession of two sem-automatic pistols loaded with a total of 29 rounds of ammunition.

Matete and Murasi were disarmed and arrested immediately and taken away to Kilimani Police Station where they were held.

Police have placed the church under 24-hour surveillance until the impasse between the two rival factions is broken.