ST JAMES, Jamaica — Former councillor for the Montego Bay South East division in St James, Pastor Knollis King is dead.

The clergyman served as councillor for the Montego Bay South East division, commonly called Rose Heights, for four years on a People National Party (PNP) ticket. He had won the seat in 2012 after defeating the then councillor Heroy Clarke who later became the Member of Parliament (MP) for the St James Central constituency in 2016.

King, who had been suffering from issues with his heart for some time now, passed away Wednesday morning in hospital. It is understood that he had been in and out of the hospital in recent times.

King was the head of the Rose Heights United Full Gospel Church of God and was instrumental in the formation of the Rose Heights Covenant of Peace (RHCP) in 2010.

Councillor for the Grandville division, Michael Troupe told OBSERVER ONLINE that Pastor King was a close friend of his.

“Pastor King was a dear friend of mine. He was a peacemaker for the Rose Heights division. He was a chaplain for the PNP and there was never a dull moment with him around,” stated Troupe.

“He is a hard worker who was always concerned about crime and violence. Everything he spoke was about peace,” said councillor Troupe, adding that it will be difficult to replace the man of the cloth.

“In all his four years at the council, he always put people first. And with that in mind, the entire PNP family in St James and the wider family in the party is now mourning the death of Pastor King,” Troupe added.

Executive member and former Chairman of the Jamaica Umbrella Group of Churches (JUGC), Bishop Conrad Pitkin, who is also the Custos of Montego Bay, expressed his deepest sympathy to the family. 

Custos Pitkin said Pastor King was an outstanding leader in Montego Bay who did quite a lot in the Rose Heights area where he pastored for many years. He said his death is a great loss to his family, church and the community.

Anthony Lewis