Cult Pastor Kevin Smith: The story that shook Jamaica
Observer two-part documentary premieres on YouTube this week
OCTOBER 25 marks four years since the reported death of controversial cult Pastor Kevin Smith, the self-styled bishop who led Pathways International Kingdom Restoration Ministries in Albion, St James.
Smith was revered by his followers, so much so that many of them, who were told to pay $100,000 each for entry into his ‘ark’, slept on concrete floors and barely had enough to eat.
However, his world came crashing down on the night of October 17, 2021 when what congregants believed was a move to protect them — in his ark — from the COVID-19 pandemic quickly turned into a nightmare as two members of the church were fatally stabbed during a ritual involving human sacrifice.
The chilling night ended with a tense stand-off between a team from the Jamaica Constabulary Force and some church members. One congregant was shot dead by police after allegedly charging at cops with a knife, while 42 other church members were detained. Fourteen children were placed in State care.
Smith, who had proclaimed himself ‘His Excellency’, was also taken into custody.
On October 25, 2021, Smith was being transported by the police from the Freeport Police Station in St James to the Criminal Investigations Branch headquarters in downtown Kingston where he was to be slapped with charges stemming from the incident.
However, in a bizarre twist, the vehicle in which Smith was being transported crashed on the Linstead bypass in St Catherine. Authorities reported that he died along with a policeman, Constable Orlando Irons, who was among the lawmen transporting the cult pastor.
But with no funeral or burial and many of his loyal followers believing their prophet would have resurrected, speculations spiralled about whether Smith had really died.
To this day many believe Smith is still alive.
On Thursday, October 23, the Jamaica Observer will revisit the haunting saga in the first episode of a two-part documentary titled ‘Kevin Smith: Cult Pastor — Dead or Alive? The Story that Shook Jamaica’.
The documentary premieres on our YouTube channel at 7:00 pm. Part two will be released on Sunday, October 26.
Part one of the Jamaica Observer documentary premieres on our YouTube channel at 7:00 pm on Thursday, October 23.
The unmarked police car in which Pathways International Leader Kevin Smith was travelling en route to Kingston from St James is seen on October 25, 2021 after it was pulled from heavy foliage off the Linstead bypass in St Catherine. The car was involved in a three-vehicle collision that killed Smith and police Constable Orlando Irons. (Photo: Karl Mclarty)
