Embattled Kilifi Pastor Ezekiel Odero has forgiven all those behind his current woes after the court unfroze his 30 bank accounts and seven M-Pesa lines on Tuesday morning.
Odero remarks through his lawyer Danstan Omari come hot on the heels after the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) confirmed to the court that he is now free to use his MPesa lines and bank accounts as investigations continue on links to money laundering.
“We are grateful to the DCI headquarters in Nairobi for allowing our client to access the lines and his bank accounts. I got special instructions that Pastor Odero has forgiven those who are out to punish him and the Christian faith. We also appreciate the efforts of the five banks, Safaricom and the court in allowing the Christian faith to pursue their calling,” Omari told Milimani Magistrate Ben mark Ekhubi
Further, the lawyer stated that the orders to the banks were complied with by the lenders, confirming that the church is now meeting its financial obligations together with school fees for five thousand students at Kilifi International School who were out of school.
He added that the samples of the holy water and handkerchiefs that the police took away on Sunday following a raided his New Life Prayer Church have been taken to the government chemist for analysis to examine if there is any criminal linkage.
Omari told the magistrate that operations in the church have also experienced fresh hurdles since the Mombasa High Court orders have not been complied with and that there is a move to close down the church by the Registrar of Societies.
Meanwhile, Omari has filed a case in the High Court seeking to bar any move by the Registrar of Societies to close down pastor Odero’s church saying that the beneficiaries of the services of the church will be greatly jeopardized.
The court is yet to give orders against the Registrar of Societies not to close down the church over alleged failure to file returns.
The magistrate closed down the miscellaneous application by DCI, to probe the church funds, paving way for the Pastor Odero to access his MPesa lines and bank accounts as investigations by police continue.
The magistrate’s decision to allow the closure of the file was after Safaricom released to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) detectives voluminous records of the MPesa transactions of Pastor Odero for the last seven years.
Confirming the release of the documents Safaricom Legal Manager Weldon Syongok told Ben Mark that they took time to rumble through the documents to separate the MPesa transactions from the billions of transactions running a span of seven years.
“We have complied with the orders as earlier directed by this honourable court. Safaricom was unable to comply with the orders because of the bulkiness of the information requested from the period 2017 to 2023 in regards to the lines, ” Syongok told the court while urging the court to purge the contempt against the telecommunication company.
Syongok further asked the court to pardon the mobile network provider for the delay in complying saying it was not intentional
State prosecutor Virginia Kariuki did not oppose the request for Safaricom to be pardoned saying they have complied with the court’s orders.
“I urged the court to mark the Miscellaneous application as closed since we have received all the requested data from Safaricom that form part of the investigations. I can confirm that the documents supplied by Safaricom and five banks are bulky and investigations are still ongoing on the said lines and Odero’s bank accounts ” the DCI through lead investigator Martin Munene.
Omari said that they will pursue the matter since police have been given all the documents they seeking to carry out their probe on the Church and Kilifi International School of Pastor Odero.
The DCI on May 8 had obtained orders compelling Safaricom and five banks to supply account transactions of Pastor Odero and his New Life Church and Kilifi International School.
The investigation agency sought the orders claiming that they are investigating pastor Odero for serious crimes including Money laundering.
