A prominent Kenyan evangelist, Pastor Ezekiel Odero, has been arrested and his church located on the coast has been shut down.
Kenyan police are currently conducting investigations into a religious sect led by another preacher, Paul Mackenzie Nthenge, that has been linked to the death of almost a hundred people due to starvation.
Odero was arrested on Thursday hours after the police inspected a funeral home near his New Life Prayer Centre church in Mavueni, Kilifi county, reported africanews.
Police said that they had established that morgue attendants had been collecting bodies at the church premises.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Coast regional commissioner Rhoda Onyancha said:
This morning we arrested Pastor Ezekiel Odero on allegations of the deaths that have been occurring at his premises.
Odero preacher has not responded to the allegations.
Police are also investigating Odero’s alleged relationship with Nthenge, who is said to have told followers to starve themselves in order to “meet Jesus”.
By Wednesday, 26 April, Kenyan authorities had recovered 95 bodies of people suspected to have died of starvation and buried in shallow graves at Mackenzie Nthenge’s farm.
Nthenge, who is already in custody, has denied wrongdoing. He is due in court on 02 May.
According to Anadolu Agency, the rise of cult-like churches in Kenya has become a growing concern with some leaders using extreme teachings that put their followers’ lives at risk.
More: Pindula News