The Police in Kenya say a pastor stabbed his wife during a church service and then slit his own throat in a murder-suicide witnessed by a bewildered congregation.

Elijah Misiko, an assistant pastor with the Ground for God’s Gospel Church in Mombasa reportedly left his front row seat and approached his wife, senior pastor Ann Mughoi on the pulpit and stabbed her with one of the knives he had hidden in an envelope.

“He walked up to his wife while the church was praying as if he wanted to whisper something to her. Then he took one of the knives and stabbed her two times.

“He believed she was dead. He then stabbed himself three times in the stomach and slit his own throat,” Mombasa sub-county Police Commander, Julius Kiragu told reporters.

Kiragu said that Misiko died instantly from his stab wounds while Mughoi died at a local hospital a few hours later.

Kiragu further disclosed that the late couple had been engaged in a long-running feud over the ownership and leadership of the church.

According to Kiragu, Misiko was detained by the police in Mombasa in 2017 after his wife alleged that he planned to kill her.

Misiko was however released the following day after Police said they found the accusations to be untrue. The couple, who had four children had lived apart since the dispute began two years ago.

“She had been trying to stay away from the husband since the dispute over the ownership of the church began. They had even reported the matter to church leaders but they were unable to resolve the dispute,” Kiragu added.

The Police said Misiko left behind a 17-page suicide note in which he accused Mughoi of changing ownership of the church, which he said they both founded to her name alone.