A court in Kenya released the rich and well-known televangelist, on Thursday (May 4) after he was detained last week for the ongoing investigation into the religious starvation cult where at least 109 people were found buried in what has been dubbed the “Shakahola forest massacre.” The bodies were found last month after which the police said that these people had starved themselves to death on the instructions of a cult leader.
The judge in Kenya’s port city of Mombasa released Pastor Ezekiel Odero after his arrest last Thursday and ordered him to deposit a non-cash bond of $22,000 or three million shillings or alternatively pay bail cash of 1.5 million shillings, reported Reuters. According to the report, Odero was seen wearing a customary all-white garb and carrying a large Bible and sat in a secluded part of the court.
The verdict also comes after the document presented last week in court said police had established that several deaths were recorded at Odero’s church and that those bodies may have been moved to a forest which is about 66 kilometres away. The police had exhumed more than 100 bodies in the past two weeks from the forest in question located close to the Indian Ocean coastal town of Malindi.
Kenya’s interior minister had also previously accused Odero of being involved in the “mass killing of his followers,” but gave no further details. However, Odero’s lawyer, Cliff Ombeta denied the state’s accusations and said, “No one has come forth to complain that their relative or kin died mysteriously at New Life Prayer Centre and Church,” referring to the pastor’s church.
After the hearing, followers sang praise songs and celebrated the court’s decision, shouting, “We have seen the hand of the Lord,” reported Reuters. Odero was accused of killing, aiding suicide, kidnapping, radicalisation, crimes against humanity, child abuse, fraud, and money laundering.
Meanwhile, the other pastor, Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, a self-styled pastor who founded the Good News International Church accused of inciting cult members to starve to death “to meet Jesus,” remains in police custody.
While Mackenzie made a court in Malindi on Tuesday, he has not commented publicly on the accusations against him or even been required to enter a plea to any criminal charge.
The majority of the 109 reported deaths are those of children. The autopsy done on nine kids and one woman, earlier this week, showed some of the victims were asphyxiated, however, starvation was said to be the cause of death, as per media reports, citing officials.
(With inputs from agencies)
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