Lakeland Mayor Bill Mutz signed a proclamation stating the city would honor and recognize “Kailasa’s SPH Nithyanada Day”, in December 2021.
The Hindu country of Kailasa doesn’t exist. It’s the creation of Swami Nithyananda, a scam artist, and fugitive from India on rape charges since 2019, as CBS reported.
Lakeland and six other Florida cities are listed on Kailasa’s website, kailaasa.org, as having issued proclamations in support of the fictitious country. Others include Bartow, DeLand, Hallandale Beach, Palatka, and Tarpon Springs, with documentation posted online.
Lakeland City Manager Shawn Sherrouse said the city regularly receives requests for “celebratory” proclamations. These requests are submitted via written letters, emails, and phone calls and are even sometimes submitted to the city’s Communications Department. The requests can cover everything from milestone birthdays to wedding anniversaries and business recognitions.
“It’s the mayor’s prerogative,” he said. “He can sign off on proclamations in some instances and it won’t include the entire commission.”
Mayor Bill Mutz can sign off on these celebratory proclamations independently, while larger public proclamations presented by the full commission are reviewed by all. But Mutz signed a proclamation recognizing “Kailasa” on December 13, 2021.
Sherrouse said Lakeland received numerous requests asking for further recognition of Kailasa and an offer for a “sister city” arrangement that was not acted on. The city manager said the process of becoming sister cities undergoes a more strict review than a proclamation.
“When you start getting multiple requests from the same entity but also requests for a sister city type arrangement, there is more research done and we won’t go far without getting the entire commission involved,” Sherrouse said.
Nithyananda’s fake country ‘United States of Kailasa’ has reportedly duped over 40 American cities into signing a “cultural partnership” with it. The report, which was first reported by Fox News, came days after Newark in the state of New Jersey admitted it was conned into becoming a “Sister City”. It later said it rescinded a “sister-city” agreement with the fictional country.
Mayor Mutz needs to rescind this proclamation now and learn how to use Google.
