With events unfolding in Shakahola Forest in Kilifi County, all eyes are on Pastor Ezekiel Ambok Odero. The pastor was arrested on Thursday for his alleged involvement in the indoctrination of his followers.
Born on March 23, 1978, on Rusinga Island in Homa Bay County, Ezekiel was raised by his mother and grandfather, Daniel Odero. He attended Ngodhe Island Primary School in Rusinga before relocating to Seme in Kisumu County with his grandfather. He attended Yeye Primary School and later Miwani High School in Chemelil, Kisumu.
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After completing high school, Ezekiel moved to Mombasa and enrolled in a diploma course in Chemical Processing Technology at the Mombasa Polytechnic (now the Technical University of Mombasa). However, he dropped out in his second year due to financial difficulties.
Ezekiel began doing odd jobs in construction and eventually joined Bishop Pius Muiru’s Maximum Miracle Church around 2000 as a choir and praise and worship teacher. His encounter with Muiru significantly impacted his life and may have inspired him to establish his church while maintaining a close relationship with Muiru.
Ezekiel has been married to Sara Wanzu for ten years, and they have three children, two biological and one adopted. In 2010, the couple founded the New Life Church in Shanzu, Mombasa County, which later relocated to Mavueni in Kilifi County on a 65-acre piece of land due to repeated threats of terror attacks by al-Shabaab.
Although the church operated for about two years without formal registration, it was finally registered in September 2012 and is now located in Mitangoni, Kilifi County. Ezekiel’s church attracts multitudes of worshipers from various parts of the country, and Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Sudan, Ethiopia, Sweden, the United States, and other European countries. The church’s services run daily, except for Mondays, and receive an average of 1,000 visitors during the week and about 30,000 during weekends.
Ezekiel’s troubles began after the arrest of Pastor Paul Mackenzie, who has been linked to the deaths in the Shakahola forest. Mackenzie allegedly directed his followers to starve, and police hexhumed over one hundred bodies in the forest. In the meantime, Pastor Ezekiel is set to be charged on Friday over his alleged links to the indoctrination of his follower.