Televangelist Ezekiel Oderos's lawyer laughed off at of whether his client and the shakahola cult leader are related, saying that he doesn't know.
The statement comes as speculation mounts over the nature of the link between the two preachers, both of whom have earned the labels "controversial" and "questionable," and whose ministry operations are based in the county of Kilifi.
The link between the two has been called into doubt following claims that Mackenzie sold his church to Ezekiel Odero, raising questions about whether the horror in Shakhola influenced the operations of Ezekiel's New Life Prayer Centre and Church.
Ezekiel was arrested Thursday morning on suspicion of "allegations of deaths at his premises and reported in morgues," according to Coast Regional Coordinator Rhoda Onyancha. Magolo, in a seemingly cagey response, said detectives have "nothing to catch on," presumably implying that the police have little evidence to build a case against the famous preacher. Furthermore, the lawyer said detectives would release the preacher who was being held.
Did you read this?
The lawyer then said, "I didn't even know he had a wife," as he dashed into the saving grace of the privacy of a vehicle waiting for him, effectively ending the interview. The New Life Prayer Centre and Church were closed Thursday after the televangelist was arrested in Kilifi county and booked at Police Headquarters in Mombasa.
Additionally, the Commissioner revealed that 22 suspects, suspected to be accomplices of Pastor Paul Mackenzie, were arrested during a widespread operation aimed at rogue pastors associated with the Shakahola Forest fatalities.
The CEO of Milele Funeral Home, Johnson Amani Kea, revealed that law enforcement officials had questioned them about the number of corpses received from Pastor Odero's church.
Government pathologists have begun conducting a post-mortem on the bodies recovered from shallow graves. The death toll currently stands at 98.
