Premium
Rongo cult-like church followers accuse police of illegal detention
Members of the public try to force their way into St Joseph Mission of Messiah in Africa Church in Opapo Village in East Kamagambo Location in Rongo Sub-county, Migori County on April 11, 2025.
What you need to know:
- The group said they should have been arraigned within 24 hours after they were moved by police from their church on the evening of April 21.
- Instead, they were held at the police station until Thursday when the court gave orders that they be moved to different police stations across the county as police commenced investigations into allegations that the church was offering cultish teachings.
Members of Malkio St Joseph Mission of Messiah in Africa Church have accused police in Migori of unlawful detention after they were held at Kamagambo Police Station in Rongo Town for at least three days without trial.
The group said they should have been arraigned within 24 hours after they were moved by police from their church on the evening of April 21.
Instead, they were held at the police station until Thursday when the court gave orders that they be moved to different police stations across the county as police commenced investigations into allegations that the church was offering cultish teachings.
The court directed that they be held for 30 days to give detectives more time to probe the matter.
Police moved 57 people including children to different police stations across Migori.
County Commissioner Kisulu Mutua said the group was arrested on Wednesday.
“Besides the children, the rest are considered arrested,” he said.
Earlier, police reported that the team was rescued from the church claiming that some of them needed urgent medical attention.
However, when they were taken to Rongo Sub-county Hospital, they declined to be attended to by the health workers.
Mr Mutua said the rescue was also necessitated by the hostility that the church members were facing from members of the public around them.
“We may rescue you and later realize that there are charges against you. The court will decide when they will leave,” he said.
The church members were given an option of leaving the police station on condition that they will not return to the church but instead find their way back to their ancestral homes.
Bernard Acholla, the lawyer representing the church members said his clients were arrested on Monday and dismissed the police report that the Christians were rescued.
Mr Acholla said his clients’ rights were infringed upon.
“If at all there were any offences that they committed, they should have been taken to court earlier,” he said.
He argued that the act of taking members of the church to the police station and detaining them for three days amounted to arrest.
“No one was rescued from the church as police claim,” Mr Achola told journalists.
The legal team has filed another case at Migori High Court to challenge orders from the security committee in Rongo to close down the church.
Mr Acholla said that even though the committee has the right to close the church, it should have notified the members to prepare how they would move out of the place.
“Human beings are not like animals. Denying someone access to where they live should be done in such a manner that they are given ample time to prepare to leave and find alternative places to go to,” he said.
When the church members were moved out, most of them walked out empty-handed having left their personal belongings, including animals, behind.
Their legal representative said a lot of property will be lost during the detention period.
“There is a serious violation of human rights. Police have interfered with the right to property,” Mr Achola said.
He added that he is dissatisfied with the court’s decision that his clients are to be detained for 30 days saying the church members have been submitting to authorities and cannot go into hiding.