Prominent human rights activist Boniface Mwangi has publicly criticized Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance leader Raila Odinga for visiting Pastor Ezekiel Odero of New Life Church shortly after his release. Pastor Ezekiel Odero is accused of having ties to a cult leader named Paul Mackenzie, who is currently in custody on terrorism charges related to the deaths of over 100 people, many of whom were children, in the Shakahola area of Kilifi county.
Raila Odinga was accompanied by Pastor Ezekiel Odero’s lawyers, including Cliff Ombeta and Kilifi governor Gideon Mung’aro, on a church tour during his visit. However, Mwangi expressed his disappointment with the visit, taking to Twitter to criticize the former prime minister for failing to learn from his past mistakes.
“Raila Odinga loves scoring own goals! Life is brutal to those who never learn from their past mistakes,” Mwangi tweeted.
Recently, police denied entry to the Shakahola mass gravesite to Raila Odinga and three local MPs, claiming that the area was a security operation zone. The opposition leader, who had arrived at the scene accompanied by MPs Amina Mnyanzi (Malindi), Harrison Kombe (Magarini), and Gertrude Mbeyu (Kilifi Woman Rep), waited for two hours as they made calls to Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki seeking permission to enter the crime scene.
Mr. Odinga stated that he intended to offer condolences to Kenyans who had lost their relatives there. He also questioned the government’s decision to block media and human rights observers from the area, indicating that the Shakahola incident had caught the world’s attention.
Mr. Odinga further claimed that the controversial pastors conducting cultic activities had associated with senior political leaders in the government and should be arrested. He explained that these religious leaders allowed politicians to use the church to politicize and, despite raising concerns about church regulations, were ignored.
The opposition leader accused senior officers of informing him that the area was out of bounds to him and his team. However, he urged the government to come clean on the operation going on in the forest and criticized their decision to ban media and human rights observers from the scene.
All in all, this incident highlights the need for accountability, transparency, and proper regulation of religious institutions to prevent exploitation, extremism, and criminal activities masquerading as faith-based organizations.