The body of 9-year-old Jeremiah John Mambu, son of Pastor Francis A. Mambu, was exhumed on Saturday, November 30, 2024, three months after his death, which was initially believed to have been the result of a deliberate act.
Dr. Simeon Owizz Koroma, a pathologist, along with other doctors and the police, conducted the post-mortem on that day. The examination revealed that the primary cause of death was “wet” drowning, which led to asphyxiation. Additionally, the post-mortem found that Jeremiah had sustained injuries to his skull, specifically around the temple area, when he fell into the water where he drowned. Pastor Francis A. Mambu has been cleared of the allegations of ritual murder.
The police have based their investigation on confessions made to them, suggesting that some boys pushed Jeremiah into the Orogu Bridge river in Allen Town while they were swimming on Tuesday, August 23, 2024. Eye witnesses on that day reported that a boy, suspected to be the main culprit, pushed Jeremiah from behind while other boys were standing on the river banks. The boy who allegedly pushed Jeremiah has since gone missing.
Due to repeated death threats against him and his family, Pastor Mambu, the General Overseer of Faith Healing Bible Church, had been living in fear for the safety of his family, including his 17-year-old daughter, Grace Mambu. To ensure her safety, Grace was sent to the USA, where she is under the care of Pastor Peter Sandi, a branch pastor of the Faith Healing Bible Church in Virginia. Grace, a brilliant student, had become reclusive and inattentive at school due to the constant death threats.
Pastor Mambu, a fervent evangelical preacher, has long denounced and preached against idol worship, occultism, and corruption, which has made him a target, particularly among occultists who have issued multiple death threats against him and his church.
The late Jeremiah is believed to have been lured to the Orogu Bridge, which stands over 60 meters high, by unknown individuals before the tragic incident occurred.
Several arrests have been made, and the investigation is ongoing.
