Security officers have rescued 57 sick individuals from the controversial Melkio Joseph Mission Messiah Church in Rongo, Migori County, following the deaths of two people who had sought healing at the church in the past week.
Rongo Sub-county Deputy County Commissioner George Matundura, who led the Monday night operation, said the intervention was prompted by growing concerns over the safety and well-being of worshippers.
He confirmed that prayer activities at the church have been suspended and that police have placed the premises under surveillance.
“We have taken 57 indisposed persons to safety and will pursue all the necessary legal actions,” Matundura said, adding that investigations are underway to establish the full extent of the situation.
Hours before the raid, a family from Nyamira County stormed the church demanding the release of their kin’s body.
They claimed the church, with the backing of the deceased’s daughter Jacita Achieng, who has lived in the church for over a decade was planning to bury the man within the church compound, against the family’s wishes.
Achieng, however, insisted that her late father had requested in his will to be buried at the church.
Authorities say they are probing the circumstances around the deaths and the alleged burial plans, as concerns mount over the church’s practices and treatment of its followers.
