Leaflets asking people to register and join terror and criminal groups were on Sunday found at a church in Likoni, Mombasa County, causing fear among residents.
Confirming the incident, Likoni OCPD Willy Simba said leaflets which were asking people to join the al-Shabaab and Mombasa Republican Council (MRC) were found at a Salvation Army church in the area.
“The content of the leaflets had ordered the congregants to join al-Shabaab, MRC and a criminal gang dubbed Wakali Wao,” he said.
It is reported that a container full of 'petrol' was also left outside the church causing fear among the residents.
However, the OCPD dismissed the claims saying the container had water but was smelling like petrol.
Mr Simba said he suspects that the leaflets had something to do with church leadership wrangles that have persisted for a while.
He said police received anonymous letters claiming that one of the pastors who had been defeated in a recent church election had embezzled church funds.
“We discovered a different script from the one given to us earlier. The discovery of two letters indicating church wrangles between two pastors changed our attention. Elections were conducted last week and a senior pastor was ousted from the church leadership,” he said.
He added, “He dismissed the elections and immediately begun to write several letters to the church claiming poor leadership.”
An eye witness who spoke on condition of anonymity said the leaflets disrupted services at the church as there were rumors that there was a bomb which caused the worshipers to scamper for safety.
“Other churches within the area were also affected after word went round that there was a petrol bomb. The services were disrupted for several hours,” said the witness.
The OCPD urged anybody with information concerning the incident to contact the police, adding that no one would be allowed to use terrorism to propagate selfish interests.