Pastor Ezekiel Odero of the New Life Prayer Centre in Kilifi was detained on April 27 after being implicated in the brainwashing of his congregation’s members.
Pastor Ezekiel may have collaborated closely with his counterpart pastor Paul MacKenzie to hide fatalities that took place at his Mavueni church, according to detectives looking into the Shakahola massacre, where over 100 remains have been exhumed.
“Preliminary investigations have revealed pastor Ezekiel is alleged to have ferried bodies of those who died inside his church at Mavueni to Shakahola through the help of MacKenzie.
The bodies are believed to have been removed from the Milele Funeral Home after the pastor differed with the funeral home management,” the police report stated.
Pastor Ezekiel was accused by Milele Funeral Home of failing to settle the mortuary fees of faithful who died at his church.
The police noted that after falling out with the funeral home, the cleric collected bodies, put them inside a lorry and ferried them to Shakahola where they were buried secretly.
Pastor Ezekiel’s relationship with Paul Mackenzie
Prosecutors told the court that they have credible evidence that some people who died at Odero’s church were buried in a piece of land in Shakahola belonging to Kilifi cult leader Paul Mackenzie.
“He is linked to several occurrence book reports of almost 100 deaths that occurred in the church between 2022 and 2023. These deaths occurred within church precincts,” Senior Prosecution Counsel Jami Yamina told the court.
Detectives also said that they have traced Sh3 million in financial transactions between Odera and Mackenzie for the purchase of a TV station.
Odera admitted to buying the TV station from Mackenzie but said the business transaction should not be linked to the Shakahola deaths.
“The buying of the tv station cannot be connected to the Shakahola killings. If such an analogue were to be sustained, then all of us who have bought second hand cars would be held responsible for the crimes committed by previous owners, including the fights with their spouses,” his lawyer argued in court.
Police requested the court to detained him for 30 days pending completion of investigations.
