Pastor Ezekiel Odero spreads wings in his Kisii backyard

Pastor Ezekiel Odero of New Life Church and Prayer Centre on Friday presided over the groundbreaking ceremony for a branch of his church in Mosocho, Kisii County.

The Mosocho branch will occupy over 13 acres of land after neighbouring owners of the land in the area agreed to merge and sell it to the church. 

Pastor Odero, who leads the church based in Mavueni, Kilifi County, was arrested and freed in the heat of investigations over the Shakahola cult deaths. 

"I came here for the inauguration of this branch. It was at a particular place (in Bonchari, Kisii) and now they are moving to a piece of land measuring over 13 acres," Pastor Odero told the Nation.

He said it was his duty as a spiritual father to consecrate the land where the new church complex will be built.

New Life congregants from various districts in South Nyanza region thronged the one-day service for blessings and healing.

"I think there were thousands, if not hundreds. It was just a one-day service and if we had planned a crusade tomorrow, we would have had chaos in terms of managing the people," he said.

The church, which is being relocated to Mosocho from Rianyabaro in Suneka, Bonchari Constituency, belongs to Pastor Odero's younger brother, Pastor Gillack Odero.

Pastor Gillack is the fourth born in the Odero family.

"I don't see him as my brother because there is no brother or sister in the ministry. He is a servant of God. My brother is at home," Pastor Odero said of Pastor Gillack.

Meanwhile, the Presidential Task Force on Religion, which is currently engaging stakeholders in public participation across the county, will visit the New Life Church congregation in Mavueni on August 1, 2023 and hold a meeting with them, according to Pastor Odero's lawyer.

In a recent interview with the Daily Nation, Pastor Gillack hinted at the start of construction in Mosocho.

He compared the new church to the biblical temple that Jesus said he would destroy and rebuild in three days.

Pastor Gillack claimed that his sibling did not help him build the Bonchari church, which sits on a 40 by 60 plot of land.

Pastor Gillack told Nation.Africa that his elder brother gave him his blessing when he decided to start a church in Kisii.

"We have nothing to hide in our church because we serve the living God," he said in the last interview.

Gillack explained that he is a farmer and also receives some support from online followers.