Inside controversial Rongo church where members live, buried in compound when they die

To its hundreds of faithful, the Melkio St Joseph Mission Messiah Church Africa is a sacred place — one that nurtures their spiritual lives and promises salvation. A church deeply rooted in its doctrines, it views faith as the architecture of life.

However, government records paint a different picture. The controversial church, known for burying its members within its own compound, is registered not as a religious institution but as a company, according to government officials.

These revelations add to the mystery surrounding the secretive church, whose members reside permanently within its premises. Their legal names appear only on the certificate of registration, listed under four directors.

According to sources and current members, all congregants go by the name Hallelhuya.

The compound has been transformed into a self-contained homestead, complete with farming and livestock rearing.

On Wednesday, families of missing persons camped outside the church and at Rongo Police Station in a desperate attempt to trace their loved ones. According to local elders, the church’s origins date back to the early 1990s.

Some of the faithful detained at Rongo Police Station refused to meet their relatives, despite being given the opportunity to reunite.

Migori County Commissioner, Kisilu Mutua, said the members were released with the intention of reuniting them with their families, but they declined.

“We are holding 57 people,” Mutua said.

He noted that the followers displayed signs consistent with indoctrination.

“When we took them to hospital, they were openly hostile to the doctors,” he added.

Mutua, who declared the church a crime scene, revealed it had been operating without religious registration. Police were instead presented with a certificate indicating it was a registered company.

John Ogeno, an elder from the Kadingo family in Rongo Sub-county, recounted the church’s beginnings. He said it emerged in the early 1990s in the Odienya area of Opapo.

“At the time, it was helping people with different problems. They would be prayed for, and many claimed their troubles disappeared,” said Ogeno.

He recalled that his close relative, Jennifer Adingo Adhiambo, was the first in their family to join the church.

After adopting its teachings, Adhiambo began convincing other relatives that it was a worthy place of worship. She encouraged her sisters-in-law to accompany her to “see Christ”.

Her in-laws followed her, only to find a man preaching and sprinkling what he called “holy water” as a form of blessing.

Eventually, Adhiambo persuaded her husband, children, and other extended family members to join. She became instrumental in drawing more people into the church.

“At first, people didn’t live there. But around 1998, they started staying one by one, never returning home,” Ogeno said.

When concerned husbands visited to find out why their wives had not returned, they were met with hostility.

Adhiambo moved into the church compound with her husband. However, he later returned home, leaving her behind.

Her family attempted to bring her back, and although she was initially taken home, she refused to eat or speak. She later disappeared.

“We were later told she had been moved to a Kisumu branch. Years later, we were informed that she had died and was buried at the church,” Ogeno recalled.

The family never got to bury her at her husband’s homestead, and the church declined to reveal the location of her grave.

Ogeno said only two family members have ever successfully left the church and returned home.

On Wednesday, several residents still searching for their loved ones remained hopeful.

The Nairobian was granted rare access to the church compound. Visitors are greeted by a line of flags believed to represent its founders. At the centre stands an ornately decorated cross.

Isaac Nyachieo, whose brother Elly Odoyo, 52, died at the church, hopes to reunite with his brother’s children.

“Our wish is to bring them home. They have everything they need there, including their late father’s land,” Nyachieo said.

On Sunday, the family attempted to collect Odoyo’s body from the church, but were blocked by members. Odoyo’s daughter, who had called the family at her father’s request, said she should have been consulted beforehand.

Another resident, George Adongo, said he is searching for his elder sister, a committed church member.

“She left with our parents and other sisters in 2005 to join the church, seeking healing. I haven’t seen them since,” Adongo said.

He added that his mother later died under unclear circumstances.