Ezekiel Odero is a very well known pastor and the head of the New Life Prayer Center and Church in Kenya. He usually attracts crowds to his gatherings, where he sells, among other things, pieces of “sacred” dust that is said to cure diseases.
The pastor was arrested by the Mombasa police on Thursday. “Odero faces criminal charges in connection with the mass murder of his followers,” said Kenyan Foreign Minister Kithure Kindiki. “The said church is closed. The more than 100 people trapped in the building have been evacuated,” the minister added.
The Kenyan police have not yet released the exact circumstances surrounding the mass murder, according to ‘The Guardian’. The head of the church was transferred to the regional police headquarters in Mombasa.
The arrest comes after Kenyan authorities announced measures against “unacceptable sects”, described as “terrorist”. These new measures came after 98 followers of the Good News International Church, most of them children, were found lifeless. They died after following the precepts of Pastor Paul Mackenzie Nthengue, who preached extreme fasting as a way to meet God.
Kenyan President Wiliam Ruto has pledged to “act against these self-proclaimed pastors who want to use religion to promote dark and unacceptable ideologies.”