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Bishop arrested over Naivasha killings

NAIVASHA, August 21 – A pastor who has been implicated in the bizarre murders and rapes in Naivasha has been arrested.

The man of the cloth, identified by police as Bishop Jeremiah Paragyo of New Hope for All Nations Church, was arrested on Thursday, a day after police arrested a suspect in whose house a woman’s body was recovered.

Police said they arrested the cleric after the suspect implicated him in a series of murder cases in the region.

Police reports indicate that Geoffrey Njoroge Matheri had admitted to killing the woman, drinking her blood and further claimed to have sold some of her body parts to the cleric.

Private parts, breasts, tongue and the woman’s eyes were gorged out when the body was found buried in a shallow grave in Matheri’s house in Kihoto estate, near Lake Naivasha.

“He (the suspect) has also admitted to having tortured, raped and killed his victims before he drew their blood and body parts for sale,’ a senior officer said.

Matheri, who is said to be the leader of a street children’s gang in Naivasha, was arrested late Tuesday when one of his victims escaped from his house as he allegedly drew blood from her.

Police raided the man’s house and conducted a search, during which they recovered some blood-stained clothes including uniforms believed to be those of a teenage girl who has been missing for weeks now.

Some freshly-covered soil led the officers to suspect that there was a shallow grave in the man’s compound, prompting them to seek an exhumation order from the Nakuru Law courts.

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Police have now concluded that Matheri is a serial killer in the region, suspecting that he may have killed many other people, mainly women and children who have disappeared mysteriously.

As Bishop Paragyo was being questioned, a crowd – mainly worshipers at his church – gathered outside the Naivasha police station.

Journalists who arrived to cover the events at Naivasha police stations were at one point ordered to leave.

Area deputy District Criminal Investigations Officer (DCIO) Calistus Mauko spent close to 30 minutes interrogating the cleric who reportedly denied any involvement in the bizarre incidents.

A visibly shaken Bishop Paragyo later emerged from the DCIO’s office and was immediately led to the police cells.
 
Speaking while being escorted to the cells, Bishop Paragyo proclaimed innocence, accusing his “detractors” of maligning his name.

He said that he had been called by the CID officers to record a statement over the adverse mentions by the street boy who is suspected.
 
According to Paragyo, the street boy told the officers that he (Bishop) had been asking for human blood upon which the street boy would kill a person to get the blood.
 
Naivasha District acting police chief Paul Kisang’ told the press the bishop was being interrogated following a statement recorded by the street boy who is the prime suspect.

Kisang’ said the Bishop would remain in custody to shed more light on the matter that has sent shock waves across the country.

“More suspects are lined up for investigations. There are people who have been implicated and will be called in to tell us what they know,” he said.

Police have in the meantime been deployed to guard Bishop Paragyo’s home and church to wade off residents who have threatened to set the structures on fire.

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