Just days after the discovery of dozens of bodies linked to a church in Kenya, another pastor in the country has been charged with the “mass murder” of his church members.
Revealing this in a statement on Thursday, the country’s Home Minister, Kithure Kindiki, said the Kenyan pastor, who leads the New Life prayer center and church in the country, was arrested on Thursday and made the subject to criminal charges related to the mass murder of his supporters.
According to the minister, “The said church is closed. More than 100 people who were hiding in those buildings have been evacuated and will be required to record information.”
Odero’s arrest followed an ongoing investigation into cult leader Paul Mackenzie Nthenge, who was accused of killing 98 people affiliated with his church.
Police have not linked the two cases, and authorities have given no further details about the nature of the allegations against Odero or his church.
Odero, dressed in his signature white robes and holding a Bible, was transferred from the coastal town of Malindi where his church is headquartered to the regional police headquarters in Mombasa for questioning.
A wealthy evangelist who draws huge crowds – his church south of Malindi can hold 40,000 people – Odero claims that “holy” cloths sold at huge gatherings can cure disease.
Dozens of bodies have been found in the past week on a property belonging to Nthenge near Malindi, where the government has promised to crack down on fringe religious sects.
The taxi driver-turned-preacher has been accused of urging his followers to starve to death as a way to God in a case that shocked the nation.
So far, at least 22 people have been arrested for this gruesome story.
More than half of the bodies discovered by investigators were children, and police fear the death toll could rise as their investigation widens.
Kindiki had described the case as “the clearest abuse of the constitutionally enshrined human right to religious freedom.”
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 involved in crime.
Questions have emerged about how Nthenge was able to preach despite police attention six years ago.
He was arrested in 2017 on charges of “fundamentalism” after urging families not to send their children to school, saying the education was not recognized by the Bible.
Nthenge was arrested again last month, according to local media, after two children starved to death while in their parents’ custody.
He was released on bail of 100,000 Kenyan shillings ($700), but surrendered to police after raiding his property in the Shakahola Forest, revealing a body.
Nthenge is due to appear in court on May 2.
A Kenyan pastor has filed charges of “mass murder” of church members.
Crime Channel
