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Second Kenyan pastor accused of mass killing of followers Second Kenyan pastor accused of mass killing of followers
(about 5 hours later)
Ezekiel Odero arrested and more than 100 people evacuated from church, days after discovery of bodies linked to another churchEzekiel Odero arrested and more than 100 people evacuated from church, days after discovery of bodies linked to another church
One of Kenya’s highest-profile pastors is facing charges over the “mass killing of his followers”, the government has said, just days after the discovery of dozens of bodies linked to another church. Kenya said on Thursday that one of the country’s highest-profile pastors would face charges over the “mass killing” of his followers, just days after the discovery of dozens of bodies in mass graves linked to another church.
Ezekiel Odero, the head of the New Life Prayer Centre and Church, “has been arrested and is being processed to face criminal charges related to the mass killing of his followers”, the interior minister, Kithure Kindiki, said in a statement. Ezekiel Odero, the head of the New Life Prayer Centre and Church, “has been arrested and is being processed to face criminal charges related to the mass killing of his followers,” the country’s interior minister, Kithure Kindiki, said in a statement.
“The said church has been shut down. The over 100 people who were holed up at the premises have been evacuated and will be required to record statements,” he added. “The said church has been shut down. The over 103 people who were holed up at the premises have been evacuated and will be required to record statements,” he added.
Odero’s arrest comes on the heels of acontinuing investigation into Paul Mackenzie Nthenge, the cult leader accused of the deaths of 98 people linked to his church. Odero’s arrest coincides with an investigation into Paul Mackenzie Nthenge, a cult leader accused of the deaths of more than 100 followers in a forest near the coastal town of Malindi.
Police have not linked the two cases, and authorities have not provided further details about the nature of the allegations against Odero or his church. Police have not linked the two cases, and the authorities have not provided further details about the allegations against Odero or his church, which is headquartered in Malindi.
Odero, dressed in his signature all-white garb and clutching a bible, was transferred from the coastal town of Malindi where his church is headquartered to the regional police headquarters in Mombasa for questioning. Dressed in his signature all-white garb and clutching a Bible, the fisher-turned-preacher smiled for the cameras as he was transferred from Malindi to police headquarters in the port city of Mombasa for questioning.
A wealthy televangelist who draws huge crowds – his church south of Malindi can seat 40,000 – Odero claims that “holy” scraps of cloth sold at his mega-rallies can heal sickness. A wealthy televangelist who has amassed a huge following – one of his churches south of Malindi can seat 40,000 people and his YouTube channel has half a million subscribers – Odero has described himself as “God’s chosen one”.
The government had promised a crackdown on fringe religious denominations after the discovery of dozens of bodies over the past week on a property near Malindi belonging to Nthenge. At his mega-rallies attended by tens of thousands of devotees, the charismatic preacher sells vials of “holy” water and scraps of cloth for 100 shillings (£0.60) he claims heal all manner of illnesses, including HIV.
The taxi driver turned preacher is accused of urging his followers to starve themselves to death as a path to God in a case that shocked the nation. At least 22 people have been arrested over the saga so far. Though casting himself as an ordinary man without political connections, Odero has shared the pulpit with prominent figures, including the wife of the deputy president, Rigathi Gachagua, in December in Nairobi.
More than half the bodies unearthed by investigators were of children, and police fear the death toll could rise as their search widens. The government had promised a crackdown on fringe religious groups after dozens of bodies were unearthed during a raid on a forested property near Malindi belonging to Nthenge.
Kindiki had described the case as “the clearest abuse of the constitutionally enshrined human right to freedom of worship”. The former taxi driver is accused of telling followers of his Good News International Church that starvation offered a path to God.
But efforts to regulate Kenya’s dizzying array of churches and ministries have failed in the past, despite high-profile incidents of cults and rogue pastors being involved in crime. The gruesome case has deeply shocked the majority Christian nation.
Questions have emerged about how Nthenge was able to preach despite attracting police attention six years ago. Some of his followers were found alive but died en route to hospital, while others refused to eat or accept medical attention.
He was arrested in 2017 on charges of “radicalisation” after urging families not to send their children to school, saying education was not recognised by the bible. More than half the bodies exhumed over the past week from mass graves in Shakahola forest were of children, and police fear the death toll could rise as their search widens.
Nthenge was arrested again last month, according to local media, after two children starved to death in the custody of their parents. Another five bodies were exhumed on Thursday, taking to 103 the total number of dead linked to the cult, a police source said.
He was released on bail of 100,000 Kenyan shillings (£590) but surrendered to police after a raid on his property in the Shakahola forest uncovered bodies. At least 22 people have been arrested and 39 rescued.
Nthenge is due to appear in court on 2 May. President William Ruto likened the cult leader to a terrorist and vowed the harshest possible punishment for him and anyone else extolling “weird, unacceptable ideology” in the east African country.
But past efforts to regulate the more than 4,000 churches registered in Kenya have failed, despite headline-grabbing incidents of cults and rogue pastors involved in serious crime.
Proposed measures to weed out bad actors – such as requiring pastors to be formally trained in theology – have been fiercely opposed and cast as violations of the constitutional guarantee for the division of church and state.
In the wake of what is being called the “Shakahola forest massacre”, questions are being raised about how Nthenge was able to continue preaching despite attracting police attention six years ago.
He was arrested in 2017 on charges of “radicalisation” after urging families not to send their children to school, saying education was not recognised by the Bible.
Nthenge was arrested again last month, according to local media, after two children starved to death in the custody of their parents. He was released on bail but surrendered to police.
Nthenge and several other suspects are due to appear in court on 2 May.