Pastor Ezekiel holds service as police presence causes jitters

New Life Prayer Centre and Church opened its doors for the Sunday service for the first time after the arrest of its leader Pastor Ezekiel Odero.

The Church was closed last Sunday as Odero remained in custody awaiting a ruling on bail release.

The opening of their service on Sunday was however faced with a brief moment of misunderstanding after a contingent of police officers were deployed at the church.

Pastor Ezekiel's lawyer Danstan Omari said the officers arrived as early as 5 am with the intention to block the service from happening.

They are said to have cordoned off the area with worshippers of the church staring at yet another possible Sunday without a service.

"They arrived at the church's gate very early in the morning around 5 am and barricaded the entry. They intended to block the service from happening," he said.

Omari divulged that they demanded a court order blocking the service from happening.

"We asked them for any court order or a written document from any authority instructing the service should not be held.

"As far as we are concerned, there was no court order blocking the Sunday service. So we engaged them asking for the same and they could not serve us."

Omari said the officers eventually left after a conversation with the county commander.

He also confirmed that the service was ongoing by the time of going to the press.

There was no confrontation during the incident.