Thousands of worshippers on Sunday flocked to Pastor Ezekiel Odero’s New Life Prayer Centre and Church in Mavueni, Kilifi, for the first time since the church was ‘closed’.
However, they were surprised to find heavily armed police officers barricading the the gate to the palatial premises.
There was no way in.
The faithful, some of who had arrived as early as 4am, waited patiently outside for their leader to emerge from his palatial residence which is inside the more than 300-acre compound.
Police said they had orders to close the church and bar worshippers from accessing it but failed to produce any court order on the same when challenged by the pastor’s lawyers Danstan Omari and Cliff Ombeta.
The lawyers said the move by the security officers was tantamount to persecution of the church.
“The procedure to communicate closure is by a legal document with a stamp of the coat of arms of the Republic of Kenya. They don’t have,” Omari said.
He said under Article 32 of the Constitution, government has no role to stop any religious function.
The two lawyers threatened to hold the police officers individually liable for any losses that would be incurred due to the closure of the church’s premises.
They said inside the compound there are many other activities and businesses including a restaurant, a shopping mall, and several construction sites that have nothing to do with the church.
“More than 3,500 workers are inside here and they have been denied entry,” Omari said.
He said the construction sites have timelines and any delays mean more cost, which the individual police officers ordered to illegally deny the worshippers entry would have to pay for.
Omari and Ombeta said the church has a capacity of 45,000 people but due to the tribulations of the televangelist, they expected more than double the capacity.
“The tithe that will not be collected today and the souls that will not be healed, and those who will die because pastor cannot pray for them, we will hold the government to account,” Omari said.
The lawyers said they would hold the service in the church compound whether they are allowed into the church building or not.
“We will hold the service outside the building,” Omari said.
Ombeta said freedom of worship is enshrined in the Constitution.
“No closure of any premises is done by word of mouth, because if the mouth were the lock we would have locked a lot of things,” he said.
Boda boda riders who earn from transporting worshipers into the vast compound complained of losing their daily bread.
“This is what we do to feed our families. Why do they want us to turn into criminals?” posed Omari Shuhuli, who says on a good Sunday, he makes about Sh2,500 from the church.
After briefing the press, Pastor Ezekiel and his two lawyers led the faithful in matching into the compound, by which time the police officers had backed off and removed the barricades.
The faithful began singing worship songs as they matched towards the church.
They got into the church building and Pastor Ezekiel offered a brief prayer service before asking the faithful to wait for the 9am service.
It was around 7.30am by then.
However, after the entry of the faithful into the church, the officer-in-charge of the police at the premises was seen having small emergency meetings.
They then made frantic calls and the new Kilifi county police commander Fatuma Hadi arrived at the scene.
Hadi was also seen making frantic calls as she consulted with Pastor Ezekiel’s lawyers.
Matatus, tuktuks and boda bodas were seen bring in people constantly.
Eventually, by the time the press left the premises, the service was still going on.
