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.
As police investigations intensify into the operations of Malkio St Joseph Mission of Messiah in Africa Church, a controversial sect based in Opapo village, Migori County, new testimony from the son of a dead follower reveals that the isolated church had questionable doctrines.
Police this week rescued 57 people, including children aged between five and 18, from the church and took them to the police station.
This comes after two men died in unclear circumstances inside the church compound on Monday.
Francis Odongo Asewe, the eldest son of the late Elly Odoyo, has come forward with a personal and painful account of life inside the church.
Elly Odoyo, once a resident of Magwagwa in Nyamira County, severed all ties with his extended family and community almost two decades ago. He moved to Opapo village in Migori County and joined the reclusive religious group, eventually bringing his four children with him -- but leaving his wife behind.
A shrine at Melkio St Joseph Missions of Messiah in Africa Church at Opapo Villlage in Rongo, Migori County on April 22, 2025.
Odongo recalls being just eight years old when his father took him and his siblings on what they thought was a journey back home.
“He said, ‘My children, I want us to go home.’ But we never reached Nyamira. We branched off the main road and stopped at the church. That was in 2006. He told us, ‘This is your new home now—the church is our homestead.’”
What followed were years of indoctrination, isolation and withdrawal from normal life.
The church operated under strict, isolating doctrines.
Education, health care and contact with outsiders, including family, were discouraged or outright forbidden.
“When we asked him about school, he told us he’d deal with that later. For almost a year, we just stayed in the compound. Eventually, one of the church leaders asked my sister, Jecinter Achieng and I, ‘Do you want to go to school or what do you want?’” explained Odongo.
Odongo and his sister were later enrolled in a couple of local schools -- St Paul's Preparatory and Opapo Primary respectively. They later joined Winyo Secondary School.
But when Ms Achieng finished her education and got a C-minus, she never returned to collect her certificate.
“She said she would pick it at an opportune time. By then, she had already immersed herself back into the church,” Odongo said.
Mr Odongo described the teachings of the church as extreme and dangerous. He said that worshippers were told that hospitals were evil and that any illness or injury should be treated through prayer alone.
“If you fell ill, no one would take you to the hospital. If someone died, they were buried the same day, no coffin, no morgue. We saw it happen. It scared us,” Odongo shared the chilling details in an exclusive interview with Nation.Africa.
A sign post of the Melkio St Joseph Missions of Messiah in Africa Church at Opapo Villlage in Rongo, Migori County on April 22, 2025.
He also revealed that members of the church were required to take a binding oath that would bring supernatural consequences upon them if they decided to leave.
“We were told that breaking the oath would lead to sickness, being struck by lightning, or even death. It was fear-driven control,” he said.
The church's schedule was rigid.
Members were assigned daily tasks and were required to participate in prayers five times a day: at 9am, noon, 3pm, 6pm and 9pm.
“We were constantly reminded that associating with anyone outside the church, including relatives, was sinful. They said only our church worshiped the true God,” Odongo said.
Leadership was treated with cult-like reverence.
“The head of the church was the only one allowed to wear shoes. When he passed by, people knelt and bowed. Even couples weren’t allowed to stay together. If you came with your wife, you were separated,” he added.
In the months before his death, Elly Odoyo was still fully committed to the church. According to Odongo, he was planning to sell off his land, a move his son questioned.
“I asked him why. He told me, ‘You’re not a believer anymore. You should leave the church.’ That’s when I knew I had to get out.”
Mr Odongo eventually left the church to pursue his dream of becoming a mechanical engineer.
It was a decision that came at a cost.
“They came looking for me later. But I stood my ground. I knew I had to build a different life,” he explained.
Although his father's death during a clash at the church is still under investigation, church members have hailed him as a martyr.
“They said he died in the battle for faith and that he went straight to heaven,” he said.
Now, Odoyo is pleading with the authorities to rescue his remaining siblings, including Ms Achieng and a set of twins, who are still connected to the church.
“I’ve spoken with the DCI in Rongo. My sister and the twins want to come home. They’ve agreed to leave, and I just want them safe. We’ve suffered enough,” he pleaded.
He has urged the government to take tough action to prevent more people from falling into the clutches of similar sects.
“This place took everything from us, our family, and our future. No child should grow up the way we did, thinking sickness is a sin or that dying in a fight is a ticket to heaven,” he said.
