'She took the kids and left': Families recount pain after Rongo church raid

A gate and signboard of St. Joseph Missions of Messiah in Africa which was closed indefinitely after police raided the church and rescued 57 people. Among those rescued were sick and injured. Two people died within the church premises hours before the raid. (Photo by Anne Atieno) The events of April 21, when police raided St Joseph Missions of Messiah in Africa church and rescued 57 people after discovering two lifeless bodies within its premises, saw families rush to Rongo Police Station to search for their loved ones after years of separation. Members of the church who were escorted to Rongo Sub-County Hospital for medical attention caused drama after they refused to be examined. According to police reports, the members of the church made noise and were singing religious songs. It was only after medical officers advised that they be removed from the hospital for causing a disturbance to other patients that they were later escorted to Rongo Police Station. Among the family members who went searching for their loved ones at the police station is John Okello, a resident of Rongo town, Rongo Sub-County, Migori County. Okello narrates how his wife insisted that she was going to live at the church and was not ready to listen to any explanation from him. The wife, who could not convince Okello to accompany her and their children to live in the church, filed for a divorce. "My wife just woke up one morning and decided that she was going to live in that church. I tried stopping her but she instead filed for a divorce and took two of my children before leaving for the church," Okello narrated. Okello, who reveals that he denounced the church's beliefs and left, said he could not worship at a church where children were born and were not being taken to hospital. "I decided just to leave the church completely. I told my wife that any child that is born should be taken to hospital. That is why my children managed to survive," he explained. According to Okello, his wife left him on October 20, 2010. His first daughter, however, ran away and followed her mother to the church after completing her secondary education. Okello told the press that he later came to realise that his daughter died when she was over 20 years old and was buried within the church premises. According to Okello, he never claimed his daughter's body because he faced financial constraints. He said he educated his daughter who remained with him, believing that she would later help him in his old age. "My daughter who went to school would have been helping me right now had she not decided to run away and join her mother at the church," Okello highlighted. According to the father of three, people now ridicule him, thinking that he did not educate his child. He says that he has been turned into a laughing stock by people around him. Okello says he is ready to welcome back his ex-wife and his two remaining children. Isaac Nyachieo, a brother to Elly Odoyo, 52, who died at the church, returned to Rongo Police Station after getting news that the church had been closed and rescued members kept at the station. He said he hoped that they would reunite with his brother's children. "Our wish is to reunite with my brother's children. We want to take them home. There they have everything they could need, including their father's land, which we have protected," Nyachieo said. On April 22, 2025, the family had gone to the church to take their kin's body before being blocked by worshippers. Odoyo's daughter, who had called the family following her father's request before his demise, had expressed her disappointment, saying she ought to have been consulted before they could forcibly take her father's body away. She had vowed not to attend the burial unless it was being conducted at the church, according to her father's will and wish. Nyachieo promised not to give up but to work on reconciliation with her and the other children. "We are happy the church has been closed. The only worry is to reconcile and take my brother's children where they rightfully belong," he said. Nyachieo's brother had separated from his wife 20 years ago before taking his children with him to join the church. Rongo Deputy County Commissioner George Matundura, on April 22, ordered the closure of the church and advised each worshipper to return to their original homes. He ordered the church members to make an inventory of their belongings that had remained inside the church. "Four people will be escorted by police to pick the belongings, after which everybody is expected to go to their respective homes," Mr Matundura said. Children without parents would be placed in safe houses.

'She took the kids and left': Families recount pain after Rongo church raid

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'She took the kids and left': Families recount pain after Rongo church raid

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