Shock as visiting preacher collapses and dies

The Kisumu Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) church fraternity is in shock after a visiting Australian pastor collapsed and died.

Dr Gungadoo Stenio,71, from the Australia South Pacific Division of the SDA church died while preparing a sermon.

Stenio (pictured) was declared dead on arrival at the Avenue Hospital on Saturday morning after collapsing in his hotel room.

The pastor arrived in Kisumu on Thursday and was to speak during a week-long annual camp at the Migosi SDA church.

The church's West Kenya Union Secretary, Pastor Japheth Ochorokodi, yesterday said the entire church fraternity is in mourning following the death of the preacher.

"It is true he has died. This is horrible and we are very sad," Ochorokodi told The Standard.

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Officials at Avenue Hospital however declined to give details of the preacher's death, citing ethical issues.

But according to a postmortem report seen by The Standard, Stenio, a renowned preacher and motivational speaker, died of a heart attack.

He had complained of severe chest pains on Saturday morning, just two days after he arrived in Kenya. He was rushed to Avenue Hospital around 9 am but it was already too late.

Doctors made all efforts to resuscitate him but to no avail.

His body is lying at the hospital's mortuary as the host church and his family back in Australia make arrangements on how it will be flown back for burial.

Sources at Migosi SDA church where he was lined up as the guest preacher, yesterday said the Australian Embassy had already been contacted and arrangements are being made to fly the body back to Australia.