‘Kevin Smith will return’

For Patricia* to ever accept that Kevin Smith, the late leader of Pathways International Kingdom Restoration Ministries, is dead, she would have had to witness the reported cremation of the body of the man herself.

Likening Smith to Jesus Christ, Patricia is confident that the controversial clergyman, who presided over a bloody ritual at the Montego Bay, St James church just over a year ago, in which three persons died, will soon return to lead his flock once again.

And they continue to gather in secret as they await his resurrection.

“His Excellency told us that we would face persecution and that he would be mocked and scourged, but mark my word, my leader is not dead, just wait and see,” Patricia, who sells clothing in Sam Sharpe Square, told The Sunday Gleaner last week.

She has not been back to the Albion Road property, where she worshipped for over seven years, since that fateful night on October 17 last year. But devout members continue to worship at an undisclosed location.

Revealing that she was among those waiting to enter the compound that night of the ‘ark ritual’, Patricia suddenly went silent when pressed for details.

In that ritual, two congregants – 39-year-old Taneka Gardner and 38-year-old Michael Scott – were reportedly murdered. A third person, 18-year-old Kevaughn Plummer, was shot dead by the police when he reportedly attacked cops with a machete as they entered the compound to bring an end to the bloody mayhem.

Church member Andre Ruddock is currently before the courts, charged with Gardner’s murder.

In a shocking twist a week after the incident, Smith died in a motor vehicle accident while being transported by the police from St James to Kingston. Constable Orlando Irons also lost his life in the accident.

Smith’s body was reportedly cremated in St James and the ashes brought back to his hometown of Glengoffe, St Catherine.

But Patricia and other Pathways members have refused to accept that the man they called His Excellency is dead.

“He will be back. Just wait and see,” Patricia repeated.

LIFELESS CHURCH

A recent trip by The Sunday Gleaner team to the once-vibrant church revealed a deserted property overgrown with bushes. There was no sign that any activity had taken place there in recent times.

Inside the building, broken furniture and debris littered what was once hailed by its members as a “majestic temple” packed with congregants seeking spiritual healing and a change of fortune.

As the team ventured throughout the abandoned compound, the fate of which remains uncertain, curious stares followed.

An elderly couple soon enquired about the purpose of the news team’s visit.

The wife, a Pathways devotee, is also looking forward to Smith’s return.

“You think a man who a heal people all his life, make the cripple walk, the dumb talk, and the blind see, can just die like that?” the elderly woman quipped. “We know that a simple accident can’t take his life, so we still meet and praise God as we await the coming of His Excellency.”

Refusing to reveal details about the secret gathering, the elderly woman said the ministry is on the rebound, with plans to resume worship at the to-be-restored Albion Road property under the guidance of a recently ordained pastor, who will shepherd them until Smith’s return.

But her husband did not share her views. Kevin Smith, he said, “reap what him sow”.

“I can tell you that her pastor should have been dead a long time. Look at the compound. Not even a bird fly over it, not even a single dog, nor a goat. Even a blind man can see that the place is cursed,” he told The Sunday Gleaner, to the annoyance of his spouse.

The husband said the property should not be returned to the congregation, but instead be transformed into a police station.

THE EMPIRE

Smith had claimed to be “the youngest Jamaica-born bishop in Jamaica’s church history”, and openly spewed controversial utterances, including forbidding his flock to take the COVID-19 vaccination.

His followers were from all social strata – rich, poor and middle class; educated and uneducated; unemployed and employed – and included doctors, lawyers, educators, and members of the security forces.

His multimillion-dollar empire was supported by the contribution and sacrificial giving of his devoted followers, which maintained his luxurious lifestyle that included properties at The Palms at Richmond in St Ann; the Gemstone Estates villa at Hatfield Meadows in Coral Gardens, St James; his Dorchester Drive home in Ironshore, Montego Bay; and the Albion Road-based church established on a leased one-acre property which he was in the process of fully acquiring.

Weekly services at Pathways International Kingdom Restoration Ministries and consultation sessions with Smith reportedly pulled in an estimated $1 million per week.

Pathways members were charged a fee of $500 for adults and $100 for children for the ‘Monthly Miracle Covenant Seed for the Churches Ministerial Upliftment’. They also paid tithes, offerings, covenant seeds, or other special contributions as requested by Smith.

Membership cards also came at a cost, with adults and children paying $500 and $100, respectively, while widows were charged $200.

Members were also encouraged to donate food items, clothing, and various supplies towards outreach programmes.

Smith also lent money to members at an interest rate of 15 per cent and even began to explore the idea of establishing an informal lending business, documents found at the church after the incident revealed.

The organisation operated a farm, which had poultry, goats, rabbits, and cattle. Items such as eggs were sold to members. Smith also sold DVD recordings of his services at a cost of $200.

…….

‘I don’t care anymore’

Gardner family gives up on pursuing life insurance payout

Members of Pathways International Kingdom Restoration Ministries were reportedly instructed to take out life insurance policies, naming Kevin Smith as the benefactor. They were immediately contacted if their life insurance policies under his management were in arrears.

Some members became so enamoured with the pastor that they reportedly removed family members as beneficiaries, naming Smith instead.

Taneka Gardner, a devoted member of the religious group whose throat was slashed during the ritual, was reported to have removed her son and her mother as beneficiaries from her policy and named Smith as the recipient.

However, after Taneka’s death, her father, Septimus Gardner, said the police told him that the process was not completed.

But after fighting for close to a year to receive the payment, the Gardner family has now given up.

Her sister, Shelana Gardner, who is acting with power of attorney for the family, has repeatedly tried, without success, to access the claim from Appliance Traders Limited (ATL), the company to which Taneka was employed, and insurers Guardian Life, only being told that disclosures could only be made to “the beneficiary”.

Although she refuses to accept that Taneka would have signed over the policy to Smith, Shelana said they have all but accepted that they were not the beneficiaries and have abandoned plans to retain an attorney due to financial constraints.

“Financially, we can’t manage it, because we have to be focused on our mother’s health, so at this time we don’t even care again,” Shelana, who said she used all her savings of over $450,000 to cover Taneka’s funeral expenses, told The Sunday Gleaner last week.

“I really don’t care anymore. December will be one year that we submitted the (burial) papers to ATL and we have not heard a word from them. They told us to carry documents, and said that the beneficiary would be contacted when it is appropriate, but I have to just accept it as a loss.”

*Name changed to protect identity.

hopeton.bucknor@gleanerjm.com