Kenyan pastor suspected of links to forest massacre

NAIROBI: A high-profile Kenyan pastor appeared in court on Friday suspected of links to the murder of dozens of people found in mass graves that has been dubbed the “Shakahola forest massacre”.

Ezekiel Odero, the flamboyant head of the New Life Prayer Centre and Church, was arrested on Thursday in the coastal town of Malindi and is accused of the “mass killing” of his followers.

It followed the arrest of Paul Mackenzie Nthenge, a cult leader accused of the deaths of dozens of his followers who were allegedly ordered to starve themselves to death to find God.

The unearthing of bodies of victims in Shakahola forest near Malindi over the past week has shocked the largely Christian nation and led the government to promise to crack down on fringe religious groups.

Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki, making his second visit to the crime scene on Friday, announced a shakeup in the local police and security services with the transfer of top bosses, but gave no reasons.

Prosecutors said Odero is suspected of crimes including murder, aiding suicide, abduction, radicalisation, crimes against humanity, child cruelty, fraud and money laundering.

The wealthy televangelist was arraigned in a magistrate’s court in the port city of Mombasa, where prosecutors asked for him to be detained for another 30 days to enable police to complete their investigations.