Kenya authorities announced on Thursday, April 27, said they had arrested another pastor over the “mass killing of his followers” just days after the discovery of dozens of bodies linked to another church.
Ezekiel Odero, the head of the New Life Prayer Centre and Church, “has been arrested and is being processed to face criminal charges related to the mass killing of his followers,” Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki said in a statement.
“The said church has been shut down. The over 100 people who were holed up at the premises have been evacuated and will be required to record statements,” he added.
Odero’s arrest comes on the heels of an ongoing investigation into Paul Mackenzie Nthenge, the cult leader accused of the deaths of 98 people linked to his church.
The self-styled preacher is accused of urging his followers to starve themselves to death as a path to God. Most of those found in mass graves have been children, and police fear the death toll could rise as their search widens.
Kindiki had described the case as “the clearest abuse of the constitutionally enshrined human right to freedom of worship.”
Nthenge was arrested again last month, according to local media, after two children starved to death in the custody of their parents.
He was released on bail of 100,000 Kenyan shillings ($700) but surrendered to police after a raid on his property in the Shakahola forest uncovered bodies.
Nthenge is due to appear in court on May 2.
