A university student was rescued from a home where he had been lying while sick for prayers in Marimanti area, Tharaka Nithi county.
The victim, aged 20, is a second-year student at the Tharaka Nithi University, police said.
His parents are among five people arrested from the compound and are members of a protestant church in the area. The drama happened on Tuesday, police said.
Police said they had been informed there was a sick man being detained at the compound of the father of the patient.
The parents had allegedly refused to take the student to the hospital and resorted to prayers.
Multi-agency teams visited the home and found the student lying in the house and appeared unconscious, as about eight people, including his parents, prayed for him.
He was suspected to be suffering from epilepsy due to vigorous convulsions. He was rescued and rushed to Marimanti Level Four Hospital, where he is admitted for treatment.
The police said they suspect the church is running a cult like affair, and they are under probe.
The incident comes at a time when there is debate on the need to regulate religious institutions hiding behind freedom of worship claims.
The Cabinet last week approved recommendations from the Presidential Taskforce on Religious Organisations, a landmark move to safeguard the integrity of religious practice while curbing exploitation.
The proposed reforms, developed in response to the Shakahola tragedy, place religious leaders at the centre of accountability efforts, emphasising self-regulation over State control.
President Ruto chaired the meeting at State House in Nairobi. Key proposals include enacting a legal framework to govern religious organisations, establishing a Religious Affairs Commission, and strengthening umbrella faith organisations for coordination.
The model blends institutional autonomy with supportive oversight and calls for leadership standards, reforms to religious broadcasting, and civic education to promote tolerance and prevent extremism.
Meanwhile, a 16-year-old boy died after falling from the balcony of the fifth floor of a residential house in Obama area, Kayole, in Nairobi.
Police and witnesses
said the victim was removing clothes from a drying line when he accidentally
slid and fell off.
He fell headfirst to
the adjacent houses where he died instantly, police said of the Monday evening
incident.
He was rushed to
Mama Lucy Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Police visited the
scene and announced investigations had been launched into the same.
