Pastor Ezekiel Arrest, I Saw It Coming

By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga

Worth Noting:

• This is because he feared they would leak the secrets of his demonic teachings and heinous crimes he was committing.
• Pastor Mackenzie was the first to be arrested. As I wrote this piece, the excercise of exhuming bodies in his 800 acre of forest land was undergoing and the death toll stood at more than 100.
• It is interesting to note the rogue pastor was teaching his followers to fast to death so that they can meet God yet himself he was eating and drinking and he would this in their presence.
• For pastor Ezekiel Odero, I knew it was only a matter of time before he is arrested.

I saw the arrest of renowned pastor Ezekiel Odero coming. It all started when the Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki visited the gory scene of Shakahola cult Massacre in Kilifi County and stated.

What we are witnessing here could be a tip of iceberg.

We have received intelligence reports another pastor was running a similar cult.

He spoke as he witnessed the exhumation of more bodies buried in shallow mass graves with death toll rising to 80 on that day.

Preliminary reports indicated that most of them had been starved to death.

According to media reports, some of the victims could have been killed.

This is because their bodies were not malnourished. One of the victims, a man was dressed in suit and tie, and he looked that he was in good health at the time of his death.

With this, many feared that pastor Mackenzie was running a deadly and ruthless cult.

After luring his gullible followers to join his doomed cult going by the name of good news international, it seems this would amount to putting them in a cage.

They had not option of quitting or leaving. Those who dared were eliminated.

This is because he feared they would leak the secrets of his demonic teachings and heinous crimes he was committing.

Pastor Mackenzie was the first to be arrested. As I wrote this piece, the excercise of exhuming bodies in his 800 acre of forest land was undergoing and the death toll stood at more than 100.

It is interesting to note the rogue pastor was teaching his followers to fast to death so that they can meet God yet himself he was eating and drinking and he would this in their presence.

For pastor Ezekiel Odero, I knew it was only a matter of time before he is arrested.

This is after I listened to the remarks made by the National Assembly deputy majority leader Owen Baya during the debate on the negative impacts of religious radicalization and how these extreme practices can be eliminated.

He alleged that Pastor Ezekiel was also running a similar cult and it was also based in Kilifi.

His cultic activities were even worse and shocking.

Baya alleged that he was luring patients from the hospitals sometimes with the help of their families and take them to his church for ‘prayers’.

Most of them would die after he allegedly conducted some funny rituals including sprinkling the so called holy water on their bodies.

The security forces should wake up and pursue him.

If Baya claims are true, then one thing is clear.

They were being buried in mass graves. Where are these graves located? How many victims have been buried?

Besides, if it turns out Ezekial was also luring his gullible followers to starve to death, and then I would agree with CS Kithure Kindiki that what we saw at Shakahola was a tip of iceberg. Reports indicated Mackenzie and Ezekiel were working together.

To me, the regulation of the churches is long overdue.

The government should seize this opportunity and address this matter conclusively.

I totally agree with President William Ruto. He noted cultic activities of Mackenzie and his company amounted to acts of terrorists.

These characters should not be allowed to live with us. Their place is in jail.

Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a writer and political analyst based in Nairobi