Authorities in Mombasa have opened investigations after rescuing 20 children and seven adults believed to have been confined inside a church in Changamwe, in what police suspect may be another case involving a secretive religious group.
Officers moved in after receiving a report from a woman who escaped the premises with her children and alerted police last Friday.
Changamwe Police Commander Patrick Gogo said officers traced the group to Zion Fire Annointing Ministries, where the individuals were found cut off from the outside world.
He explained that the operation was part of a broader security effort that began last Wednesday, targeting suspected illegal religious gatherings in the area.
Gogo described the scene officers encountered as alarming, especially for the young children. “When we came in, we found that the condition the women and children were in was a very worrying state because we found all of them sleeping on the floor of the church, and this was dangerous,” he stated.
He added that the situation placed the children at risk of illness, particularly malaria. “As you know, Mombasa has very many mosquitoes, and so when small children sleep on the floor without nets, it is easy for them to get malaria,” he said.
The individuals were escorted to safety, while the seven adults were detained for questioning. Police say they are yet to trace the church leader linked to the group and believe there may be others who have not yet been found.
Gogo said efforts are ongoing to locate the person responsible and to determine how long the group had been staying inside the church.
The raid comes as security agencies across the country continue to respond to reports of harmful religious teachings and secret gatherings.
This latest case follows a similar rescue in Migori County earlier this year, where more than 50 people were found in a church compound under suspicious circumstances.
In April, police in Kochola Village rescued 57 individuals at St Joseph Mission of Africa Church after receiving information from the Assistant Chief of Kanyadiedo sub-location.
During that incident, officers from Kamagambo Police Station discovered the body of a person wrapped in a white robe and covered with a grey bed sheet on the church floor. The body showed signs of injury and foam around the mouth, and a second body was recovered later the same day.
Survivors in the Migori case were taken to Rongo Sub-County Hospital for treatment but are reported to have rejected medical examination and instead began singing religious songs, making it difficult for health workers to attend to them.
Police say they remain alert to prevent similar incidents and will continue following leads involving unlawful confinement or religious practices that put lives at risk.
