Pastor Ezekiel Odero Arrested in Malindi, Kenya, Over Alleged Deaths at His Church

Kenyan authorities said Thursday they had arrested Ezekiel Odero, head of the New Life Prayer Centre and Church, in the coastal town of Malindi. Rhoda Onyancha, the government commissioner for the region, said the arrest followed allegations of deaths occurring at his premises. She did not elaborate on the allegations. Odero was later transferred from Malindi to the regional police headquarters in Mombasa for questioning.

Kenya’s interior minister, Kithure Kindiki, said Odero was being processed to face criminal charges related to the mass killing of his followers. Kindiki gave no details on how many deaths were linked to Odero’s case. The source reports do not state that charges had been filed or that Odero had entered a plea. Odero has not been convicted of any offense.

Onyancha said the prayer centre would be closed going forward. Officials evacuated followers from the New Life Prayer Centre and Church in Mavueni, and one report says the church was shut down. Over 100 people who had been staying at the premises were evacuated, and according to Kindiki, they will be required to record statements. Protecting the vulnerable is the concern at the center of this step (Psalm 82:3).

The arrest is being reported alongside a separate investigation into Paul Mackenzie Nthenge, described as an alleged cult leader. Police have not connected Odero to Nthenge, according to one report. The other report describes the two cases as separate, and it says police were still exhuming bodies at a ranch owned by Nthenge, who moved there in 2019 after closing his church in Malindi. The reports differ on the death toll in the Nthenge case. One puts the number of deaths linked to his church at 98, while the other says officials had reported 103 deaths.

Background on Nthenge was also reported. He was arrested in 2017 on charges of radicalisation after urging families not to send their children to school. He was released on bail of 100,000 Kenyan shillings (about $700), but he surrendered to police after a raid on his property uncovered bodies.

One report says Odero has claimed that “holy” scraps of cloth sold at his mega-rallies can heal sickness. That claim is attributed to Odero in the report and has not been verified. The other report says Odero’s YouTube channel has more than 400,000 subscribers and over 70 million views. Kindiki said that more than 100 people who had been holed up at the premises were evacuated and will be required to record statements.