Police Officers in South Carolina, United States are investigating a case in which a female church employee stole donor funds meant to fund a project in Vihiga County.
WBTW, a Western media outlet reported that the employee in question was accused of stealing Ksh157,069 from a project titled "Dare to Care Mission" meant to uplift the livelihoods of families in Jebrock Town situated in Vihiga.
The woman, whose name was concealed, was entrusted with the project set to be undertaken by Solid Rock Ministries after the pastor supposed to lead the program took time off following his wife's death.
It is reported that the pastor's wife died by suicide at a State Park in Robeson County in North Carolina on April 27, 2024.
The pastor was given time off from his ministerial duties in the first week of May to plan for the burial. His ministerial duties were then assigned to different church members.
As such, the woman in question was assigned the task of withdrawing the funds from the church's bank accounts and channel the same to the Dare to Care Mission project.
She was however accused of transferring the amount to her account and fleeing.
Days later, the pastor's family set up a GoFundMe page requesting potential donors to withhold donations to the Dare to Care Mission, citing ownership issues.
Church officials declined to speak to the international press on the matter.
South Carolina police have since pointed out that the church is yet to file a formal complaint over the matter.
The city attorney revealed to the press that the church may opt to settle the incident as a civil matter without instituting legal proceedings against the female employee.
If the church officials decline to press charges, the attorney must close the case.
Currently, the church is on the spot following the demise of the pastor's wife. When interrogated by the police, the pastor claimed that his wife's death was a suicide.
A post-mortem examination conducted on the wife's body revealed that she died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The wife's family, however, called on police to probe further, suspecting why her death came shortly after she filed for divorce.
