Pastor Ezekiel Goes To High Court Over Deregistration Of Church
Through his lawyers, Ezekiel Odero called on the High Court to compel the Attorney General to address the matter within 90 days, from Friday, August 18.
Marvin Chege 
Pastor Ezekiel Odero has moved to the High Court to appeal a decision by the Registrar of Societies to cancel the registration of his New Life International Church.
Through his lawyers, Ezekiel Odero called on the High Court to compel the Attorney General to address the matter within 90 days, from Friday, August 18.
Speaking to the media immediately after filing the application, lawyer Danstan Omari revealed that the Kilifi-based televangelist wants the State to re-register the church and be barred from meddling with its operations.
Nairobi lawyers, Danstan Omari (left) and Cliff Ombeta address the media, on Saturday, April 29, after they were hired to represent Pastor Ezekiel Odero in court. /TWITTER
"It's suspicious. It's a clear manifestation against Pastor Ezekiel. Notices to close have never been served. No notice to show cause has been issued as provided by the rules as required by the constitution," Omari alleged.
He added that the move by the Registrar was done in bad faith since it stops him from holding a conference that was scheduled for Saturday, August 19.
The conference dubbed 'Meza ya Bwana' was to run for the next 14 days with over 100,000 people expected to attend on a daily basis.
Omari further lamented that they have also been trying to access the registration file in a bid to file returns but their efforts have been in vain.
"Numerous letters have been written to the Registrar but it has proven to be a difficult task to get the file," added Omari, who noted that the church remains open to its followers by virtue of the filing of the appeal.
Highlighting what they suspected was pure mischief, the Lawyers claimed that the Gazette Notice was issued on Friday yet the church was purported to have been deregistered in May 2023.
They also claimed that the State was annoyed by a suit in which Pastor Ezekiel is demanding compensation in millions of shillings following his arrest and detention.
The Kilifi-based centre was among five other churches whose registrations were revoked in an effort to crack down on religious institutions. Pastor Ezekiel has been in the headlines for links to money laundering and cults.
Other churches deregistered include Helicopter of Christ Church, Theophilus Church, Kings Outreach Church and Goodnews International Ministries.
"In exercise of the powers conferred by section 12 (1) of the Societies Act, the Registrar of Societies cancels the registration of the societies specified in the first column of the Schedule, with effect from the respective dates specified in the third column of the Schedule," Registrar of Societies Maria Nyariki stated.
Pastor Ezekiel was arrested on April 27, and arraigned in court on accounts of conspiracy to commit crime and money laundering but he was not formally charged, and afterwards set free on bail on May 12 after he denied all the charges against him, maintaining that he is innocent.
