The 'mighty prophet' steps aside as Pastor Ezekiel hogs the light

Pastor Ezekiel Odero Ezekiel, who stunned the country after filling Kasarani Stadium to the rafters, is the new sensation in televangelism after Pastor Pius Muiru, Mary Kagendo and Prophet David Owuor.

His New Life Church in Mavueni, Kilifi County is a fortified castle built on a 650-acre piece land with a place to worship, guest houses and a modern hotel.

Ezekiel's rise in religious circles in Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania where he also holds humungous crusades is similar to that of Muiru, Kagendo, Pastor Nganga and Bishop Joseph Maisha.

Save for Owuor, the rest started their missions in Mombasa. So did the late Elish Chitayi whose Miracle Revival Pentecostal Church of East Africa was based in Mariakani, Kilifi County.

According to most of Pastor Ezekiel's followers, New Life Church moved from Shanzu in Mombasa to Mavueni early this year after he received several threats to his life.

Others, however, say he moved to Mavueni, near the home of his wife, Pastor Sarah, a Chonyi by tribe, to fight witchcraft. In the past, he claimed that his life was in danger in Shanzu.

"I fight witchcraft, Mipango ya Kando (mistresses), and heal the sick," says Ezekiel in his recorded sermons on YouTube. His main mission is to ensure that the institution of marriage is strong, he says.

In Shanzu, and now Mavueni, he holds huge crusades that attract thousands of people from different parts of the country. Most worshipers arrive in buses from all parts of the country.

He is ridiculously popular at the Coast, with his sermons castigating "mipango ya Kando" making him a darling among married women. But men also throng the church because he abhors divorce and separation.

In most of his sermons, he insists that a woman should not even travel out of the country and leave her husband behind because these are some of the things contributing to rising cases of divorce in Kenya.

Unlike other preachers, Pastor Ezekiel calls his places of worship "altars" to differentiate them from other churches, and he sells "holy white handkerchiefs, water, and oil" to his followers.

His summons, which draw thousands of female worshipers, are altars where marriage and issues are deconstructed and women are ordered to go back to their husbands regardless of their differences.

Contrary to assumptions that he hails from the Coast, The Nairobian has established that Pastor Ezekiel's place of birth is Mbita in Homabay County. Those who know him well say he was raised by a sickly mother and maternal uncles.

According to a former classmate, Ezekiel was an ardent Seventh Day Adventist and a popular duet singer during his days at Miwani High School where loved to engage in religious debates.

"He liked to engage in endless debates to castigate those who worshiped on Sunday. We were shocked to learn that he started a church that worships on Sunday," said the classmate who did not wish to be named.

He revealed that Eza, as they called him back in the day, used to trek 28km to school on opening days.

"One thing that the 1999 and 2000 classes in Miwani High School can remember about Eza is how hard he fought for a chance to sing SDA songs during the Sunday worship in school," the classmate said.

Another student who was in the same class with Pastor Ezekiel said he was "very poor in Kiswahili" and described his smooth preaching in the language today as a "true miracle."

"He scored a mean grade of C-. He was poor in Kiswahili. The highest score he ever got in that subject was a D+. It is a miracle how he has been able to master that language," said another classmate.

But Ezekiel is said to have distanced himself and cut ties with his former mates. The two classmates said they added him to the school WhatsApp but he 'lefted'.

"Whenever we add him to our WhatsApp group, he says hi, sends a laughing emoji, and leaves," said a classmate who added that Pastor Ezekiel comes from a humble background.

Odero who was popularly known as 'Eza' in school was also a talented footballer who played number seven.

His Miwani High shot to fame in school football, sailing to the national games in 1999 after several giants from the then Nyanza Province were banned for fielding non-students in the sport.

Miwani, however, failed to play in the National Games due to financial constraints and passed the chance to the second run-up Kokoru Boys High from Migori. One of the students who missed the chance to represent Miwani High in the national games was Pastor Ezekiel.

Ezekiel is married to Pastor Sarah, and the couple have three children (a boy and two girls) aged 14, 15, and 16 years. He has always hailed Pastor Pius Miuru as his spiritual father.

During the crusade at Kasarani, he introduced Pastor Muiru as his 'father' and Deputy President's wife, Pastor Dorcas Gachagua, as his spiritual sister.

Pastor Dorcas' presence in Kasarani could perhaps be an indication that like former powerful evangelical pastors, Ezekiel also enjoys politics connections at the highest levels in the land.

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta and his then Deputy William Ruto used to attend services at pastor Kegendo Kisima Cha Neema Church in Mishomoroni, Mombasa.

Ruto is also close to Pastor Wilfred Lai of the Jesus Celebration Centre based in Bamburi, Mombasa while former Prime Minister Raila Odinga was known to attend Prophet Owour's crusades.