Why New Life Church pastor Ezekiel Odero was arrested and detained in Mombasa

 

On Thursday, April 27, pastor Ezekiel Odero of the New International Life Church in Kilifi was detained on suspicion of conspiring with another pastor, Paul Mackenzie.

At a news conference, Coast Regional Commissioner Onyancha said that Odero's church was closed and that he had been arrested.

As a result of reports that killings have been happening on his property and being publicized by numerous media outlets, we detained Pastor Ezekiel Odero this morning.

"We also took action and shut down the prayer centre. We are advising and informing the general population that the church has been shut down and that everything inside has been removed," she said.

Pastor Odero was really being questioned at the DCI regional office in Mombasa County, according to Onyancha.

In a comprehensive operation against rogue preachers linked to the fatalities in Shakahola Forest, the Commissioner added that 22 people thought to be Mackenzie's allies were also arrested.

In a viral video, Pastor Odero was seen being led by police to the Kilifi County station after arriving for questioning in his white Lexus LX570.

The preacher was apprehended after recording a statement with Kilifi DCI on April 25.

Sources with knowledge of the situation had earlier revealed that police had questioned the managers of the Milele Funeral Home in Mavueni, Kilifi County, a mortuary close to Pastor Ezekiel's church, on claims of cult activity at the Coast.

Johnson Amani Kea, the CEO of Milele Funeral Home, also confirmed that police were interrogating them about the quantity of corpses they had taken from Pastor Ezekiel's church.

"The funeral establishment did not, as had been claimed, file an allegation with the police; rather, it just assisted them in their inquiries, "according to the CEO.

"We failed to submit a complaint. The police are taking statements on how many corpses from Pastor Ezekiel's church we have been handling so far."

"As required by law, we have provided the police with our statements on that. Pastor Ezekiel is not the subject of a complaint we have made. The police are only doing their investigations," Kea said.