By Tobias Ekirika
The Supreme Knight, Knights of St. Mulumba Nigeria, Sir Steve Adehi, has said that his four-year tenure will be dedicated to the spiritual upliftment of members of the Order.
Sir Steve made his intention known on Thursday, January 29, during his maiden press briefing held at the KSM National Headquarter, Onitsha, Anambra State.
He disclosed that while striving towards improving upon myraids of achievements of the founding fathers of the Order, his administration will also focus on the direction of improving the spiritual welfare of members.
He revealed that for many years, the Order of the Knights of Saint Mulumba Nigeria worked largely in silence.
He said that the Order believed that service, to remain pure, must remain modest. "That belief still holds", he said, "But today, silence alone is no longer neutral. In an environment saturated with noise, absence from the moral conversation can be mistaken for irrelevance.
"For years, the Order has maintained an active presence in prisons across the country. Knights visit regularly, not only to evangelize, but to listen. Many have sat across from men who have been incarcerated longer than the maximum sentence for the crimes they were accused of.
"Awaiting trial has become, for some, a life sentence in slow motion. In response, KSM councils have provided legal support, facilitated dialogue with justice sector stakeholders, and in some cases helped secure the release of inmates unjustly held.
"Beyond advocacy, the Order has supplied food, clothing, medical support, and reintegration assistance for released prisoners because freedom without reintegration is another form of punishment.These efforts do not romanticise crime. They insist on proportionality, humanity, and due process principles without which justice becomes cruelty by another name.
"Across several states, KSM councils are deeply involved in feeding programmes for the poor and indigent-elderly people without support systems, widows, families displaced by conflict, and residents of internally displaced persons camps. In these camps, Knights have provided not only food and clothing, but educational materials for children and trauma-sensitive support for families navigating life after violence," he said.
He said that the Order is also deepening its engagement in justice access supporting indigent litigants, facilitating legal navigation, and advocating for alternatives where adversarial processes only compound harm.
The Order, he said, has long been involved in feeding programmes and support for the indigent, including in internally displaced persons camps. "But we recognize that perpetual emergency relief, without stability pathways, quietly traps people in dependence. The intervention of the Order will increasingly link relief with restoration, ensuring that feeding programmes are paired with education continuity, skills exposure, and community-based support systems that help families regain footing."
He also said that the Order is strengthening mentorship and values-based formation across parish schools, tertiary institutions, and informal learning spaces, and added that Knights are committing time, not just resources, walking with young people through questions of purpose, discipline, and civic responsibility; with the aim not to produce compliant citizens, but anchored adult young Nigerians who can endure frustration without turning to despair, violence, or predation.
He further revealed that what distinguishes the Order’s approach is not scale or spectacle, but style, level of formation, presence, and institutional repair - slowly, consistently, and without expectation of applause.