Police raid Father John Pesa’s church, take detained mentally ill patients to hospital

A multi-agency team consisting of officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) and Kisumu County Health Department on Friday raided the church belonging to Kisumu clergy Father John Pesa.

ODPP prosecutors were executing a search warrant on the Holy Ghost Coptic Church facility following ongoing investigations into claims that the controversial preacher detains the sick for prayers at the premises.

The officers visited the rooms where some of the mentally ill patients were allegedly detained and took them into a standby ambulance, which was later driven to the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH).

The officers also visited and examined a number of graves in a yard next to the church, where the preacher explained to the officers that they belonged to deceased nuns who worked at the church.

Father Pesa was also grilled during the visit, with reports that the government is keen on pressing charges in court against him; he was however not arrested.

The officers declined to speak to the media during the raid.

In June, the Senate Ad-hoc committee investigating the proliferation of religious organizations also raided the church and rescued eight people who were detained for prayers; they decried the deplorable situation in which the patients were held.