Kevin Smith had great prophetic powers, says Henley Morgan
MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT Dr Henley Morgan has admitted opening doors for Pastor Kevin O. Smith to access the corridors of power locally.
Morgan does not recall participating in a seminar Smith hosted at The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, in 2011 as part of his Pathways International Foundation mentorship programme. However, he acknowledged meeting t he t hen “impressive” Smith over a decade ago, inviting him to his home and ministry in Trench Town, St Andrew, and connecting him with some of Jamaica’s power brokers to establish his credibility.
“I met him through a leading consultant, who shall remain nameless, who met Kevin on a flight into Jamaica. Kevin did not even check in to the hotel from the airport; he ended up spending the night with this person,” said Morgan of the individual, who has credited Smith for “healing” his then seriously ill daughter.
Smith returned to Jamaica some time in 2011 and established the Pathways International Foundation Limited, which included a mentorship programme and later on a church in Montego Bay, St James, now the centre of attention over a deadly ritual.
Smith died in a car crash last Monday on his way to Kingston, where he was to be officially charged for murder.
Morgan said during the early days, Smith showed “great charisma and great prophetic powers”.
According to Morgan, Smith was conscious about the “external show of success and influence” and wanted to establish himself in Jamaica as a prophet, healer and evangelist, who would use Christianity to plot prosperity for believers.
To meet those aims, several events were held to pitch Smith’s vision, including a week-long conference that was held at the Jamaica Conference Centre that Morgan said included people from most sectors of society.
“Among the things I did was putting on events and using some of my acceptance of people to cloak him in that so he would have ready acceptance among influential people in the society. I introduced him to a lot of people in the church ranks,” he added.
Some of Smith’s mannerisms and approach to business did catch the attention of his supporters.
“Some of us did notice some peculiar ways of raising funds and of self-elevation, especially in front of audiences. He was very conscious about who would get the praise and who would get the glory, … but that was overwhelmed by obvious manifestation of gifting,” Morgan said, making it clear that after about 12 months of supporting Smith, he branched out and the relationship essentially died.
TIGHT-LIPPED ABOUT ASSOCIATIONS
Some businesspersons, who pooled resources to cover the costs of some of Smith’s early events and networking overtures and were expecting significant returns, are remaining tight-lipped about their associations.
Morgan declined to give the names of the persons and leading Jamaican businesses with whom he connected Smith.
The social and community activist, who is founder of the Agency for Inner City Renewal and known for his work in Trench Town, admitted that he did not try to authenticate Smith’s pastoral credentials.
“I did not see that domineering aspect, or what I would call that cultic side, during that time because he would have been on territory that we created or that was ours. He at no point ever reached out to me again or invited me to Montego Bay,” Morgan said of the relationship that fizzled within two years of their meeting.
The devout Christian said he has wondered since the Pathways incident earlier this month, whether he should have picked up the trajectory Smith was on.
“The one thing I really wonder about is this: Don’t end up saying these people who were in the pews were fooled. They were no more fools than those of us who were so impressed,” Morgan stated.