The controversial leader of Pathways International Ministries, Kevin O Smith has died following a motor vehicle accident on the Northern Caribbean island of Jamaica.
Local reports have it that Smith died alongside a policeman in the accident. Three other cops were injured in the incident.
It was gathered that Police confirmed Smith’s death saying that he was heading to Kingston at the time of the accident.
Speaking with newsmen, Head of the Jamaica’s Constabulary Forces said: “They were taking him to Kingston to be formally charged; there was an accident and all four people in the vehicle received serious injuries. Two died, a police constable and Mr. Smith and the other two police officers are in critical condition.”
The controversial Pastor, who is the head of his Pathways International Kingdom Restoration Ministries was earlier arrested after police swooped down on his church in Montego Bay in response to a report that a human sacrifice was taking place in the church, where more than 100 followers had gathered, dressed in white robes.
In their testimonies, survivors who spoke to local Jamaican media outlets, said the ritual involved senior members of the church “stabbing” and “slashing” several congregants who were told they’d be embarking on a “heavenly journey’.
“When I saw blood and the young lady fell, I said ‘This is it for me,’” one member who managed to escape the church told the Jamaican Observer.
Another testifier, Milton Ricketts, who knew Smith well, told newsmen that the troubling activities at Smith’s church had been “going on for years.” “The people have been brainwashed, including the children, and they have been taught things which are unscriptural and they have suffered damage in their soul.”
Delineating on the development, Ricketts said Smith usually demand his followers to “take a knee,” when addressing him, asking them to refer to him as “Crown Bishop… at all times.”
Meanwhile, Police on the island had previously said they were investigating “a case of double murder and three counts of wounding,” in connection with the Oct. 17 killings, and more than 40 members have been arrested over the incident so far. The police probe has also involved the search of two of Smith’s luxury homes before he died.
