During a search operation at the Coptic Holy Ghost Church in Kisumu, administered by Father John Pesa, officials from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) discovered gravelike sites.
In a statement issued on Friday, August 4, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) stated that the DCI will exhume the graves in the following days as investigations into the church’s practices continue.
After the pastor was accused of detaining the sick, the ODPP and DCI searched the church.”During the operation, two grave-like spots were discovered on the grounds behind the church, and three suspected sick victims were rescued and taken to the hospital for medical assessment and treatment,” the ODPP claimed.
“This is in response to a court order that granted the investigating agency authorization to conduct the exercise following several complaints that people with mental disabilities were being illegally held within the church premises,” the ODPP noted. Detectives also suspect that some mentally challenged patients died and were buried without a permit on the church grounds.
Pesa, on the other hand, said that all patients present in the church came willingly to seek recovery, with some being released after feeling better. He also said that the authorities unfairly attacked him in the absence of clear evidence and were frightened of going after other churches that house the ill. “Sick people are brought here for healing, and some, after healing, return home, including those with mental illnesses,” he explained.
It was also said that he binds patients to prevent them from fleeing. The agency’ search comes just days after senators visited the church as part of their ongoing probes into the growth of religious organizations. During the exercise on June 25, eight persons were rescued and sent to the hospital for evaluation.
Meanwhile, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua insisted that the government would preserve the independence of the church even as President William Ruto’s task team investigated the expansion of religious organizations. “The government upholds the Constitution’s guarantee of Religious Freedom.” We shall never try to control the Church. “The Church will regulate itself,” he said. “It is incorrect to condemn the Church because of the sins of a few individuals.”
