Tag Archives: Shakahola

FAMOUS PEOPLE IN KENYA

Pastor Ezekiel Odero Arrested over deaths similar to those at the Shakahola Massacre

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Pastor Ezekiel Odero Arrested over deaths similar to those at the Shakahola Massacre

The Kilifi based self-proclaimed controversial preacher dubbed Pastor Ezekiel Odero has been detained today following reports of deaths of his congregants at the New Life Prayer Centre and Church.

Confirming the arrest, the police also reported that his church has been closed down.

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“As the reginal security team, we have arrested pastor Ezekiel Ombok Odero of the New Life Prayer Centre and Church at Mavueni in Kilifi county on allegations of the deaths that have been occurring at his premises and reported in various morgues,” Coast Regional Coordinator Rhoda Onyancha said.

“The prayer centre which is located in Kilifi has been closed down and those residing at his residence have been ordered to go home. The sick have been advised to go back to hospital,” Rhoda explained.

This comes hours after the televangelist was summoned from Kilifi alongside his wife and aide by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Mombasa for allegedly advancing cult-like practices.

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When asked by journalists if he is linked to his fellow preacher Paul Nthenge Mackenzie over the Shakahola deaths caused by starvation, Ezekiel declined to comment.

Detectives have been investigating claims that Pastor Ezekiel was pulling critically ill followers from hospital wards to his church purportedly to perform miracles on them in order to heal.

The preacher is accused of ferrying the sick, including those suffering from terminal illnesses, from various hospital wards to perform healing miracles inside his church in Mavueni, Kilifi county.

There are reports that some of the patients could have died as a result of being denied medication as a result of the preacher’s actions.

Detectives have also recorded statements from the management and officials of Milele Funeral, Burial and Benevolent Services in Mbogolo area near the church’s headquarters in Kilifi town to establish how many bodies, if any, it has received from the church.

Pastor Ezekiel Odero’s arrest comes at the backdrop of a horrendous discovery at Shakahola where hundreds of brainwashed followers of Pastor Paul Mackenzie had pitched camp, fasting, after selling their earthly belongings including prime plots.

The number of exhumed bodies in Shakahola has hit 98, following the exhumation of bodies of eight children.

A majority of those confirmed dead include children, even as the police intensify investigations into Paul Mackenzie’s cult-like religion, which encouraged its followers to starve to death “to meet Jesus”.

According to reports, at least 300 reported to be missing as a result of Mackenzie’s activities are yet to be found, or their bodies found.

Mackenzie, the head of the Good News International Church, surrendered to police in March and was charged after two kids died of starvation while in their parents’ care.

He was released on a Ksh100,000 cash bail but was later re-arrested on April 15, 2023, after more bodies were found in relation to the same.

On Wednesday, April 26, 2023, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki announced a dusk-to-dawn curfew in Shakahola even as police intensified investigations. So far, at least 14 suspects have been arrested in connection with the saga, which the government has termed a massacre.

FAMOUS PEOPLE IN KENYA, General

Shakahola Pastor Paul Mackenzie; Shocking Facts about Shakahola Massacre

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Shakahola Pastor Paul Mackenzie; Shocking Facts about Shakahola Massacre

The heinous cult-like activities at Shakahola, Malindi, were unearthed by Citizen TV’s bold reporter Francis Mutalaki who risked his life by daring the machete-weilding, fierce guards installed by Pastor Mackenzie at the entrance of the 800-acre prayer center to come graveyard.

Mayungu Children rescue center had brushed shoulders with the controversial preacher way back in 2017 after 93 children were rescued from the misleading teachings of the pastor. According to the data at the disposal of the recue centre, half of the rescued children are now dead.

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So far, 103 bodies have been exhumed from shallow graves with some containing up to seven bodies.

Shakahola has now been declared a disturbed area by interior Security CS Kithure Kindiki something that has not only baffled Kenyans but also left them yearning for more information.

The key questions were, where were CS Kindiki and his team when tens of children were being forced to starve to death at the Shakahola forest? Where was the Nyumba kumi security team or chiefs?  Why is the media being blocked from accessing the crime scene after making concerted efforts to stop the horrors?

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Meanwhile, six people believed to be cult leader Paul Mackenzie’s followers have been detained five days as detectives investigate their role in the Shakahola mass killings.

Smart Mwakalama, Lucas Owino, Zablon Atanda , Daniel Makori, John Mark Kiara and Fredrick Kirimi have been remanded at the Mtwapa police station in Mombasa County.

Police traced and arrested Mackenzie in Chakama in a hideout. On Tuesday, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki corroborated Nation’s investigations into the cult, saying, many deaths might have happened within one month.

“He has been arrested and arraigned in court three times but always released on small bonds. Most of the deaths that have happened here in Shakahola occurred after the last payment of the Sh10,000 bond. Had he been jailed at the time, this loss of lives would not have happened,” said Prof Kindiki.

“Curfew orders have also been declared and gazetted within the said area between [6 pm and 6 am] for 30 days.”

The Kilifi County Government also received 200-capacity refrigerated containers from the Kenya Red Cross Society to preserve bodies from Shakahola, where dozens of followers of a cult fasted to death and were buried clandestinely.

County Health Executive Peter Mwarogo said the mortuary at the Malindi Sub-county Hospital was full and cannot accommodate more bodies.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) yesterday obtained orders to search and seize Mackenzie’s properties. Malindi Court Principal Magistrate Ivy Wasike also ordered that the search be extended to his seven associates.

The search is to be conducted by the DCI where the cult leader lives or conducts his business in Furunzi-Malindi and Shakahola for purposes of retrieving bank balances, title documents, sale agreements and motor vehicle details “or any other document and item linked to the offences of terrorism, radicalisation, murder or any other charges that will be preferred against the accused persons.”