Headline
Kenyan Pastor Released On Bail Over ‘Fasting To Meet Jesus’ Christians’ Death
Published
2 years agoon
By
Editor
One of Kenya’s highest profile pastors was released on bail Thursday after appearing in court in connection with the horrific discovery last month of dozens of bodies in mass graves.
Ezekiel Odero, a wealthy televangelist who boasts a huge following, is being investigated on a raft of charges including murder, aiding suicide, abduction, radicalisation, crimes against humanity, child cruelty, fraud and money laundering.
Prosecutors accuse Odero of links to cult leader Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, who is in custody facing terrorism charges over the deaths of more than 100 people, many of them children, in what has been dubbed the “Shakahola forest massacre”.
Mackenzie, the head of the Good News International Church, is alleged to have incited his followers to starve to death in order to “meet Jesus” in a case that has deeply shocked Kenyans.
READ ALSO: Cult Leader Arrested Over Death Of 4 Members Who Starved To ‘Meet Jesus’
Police had sought to detain Odero, who is popularly known as Pastor Ezekiel, for another 30 days to complete their investigations.
But magistrate Joe Omido ordered him released on bail of 1.5 million Kenyan shillings (about $11,000), saying he had to report to police once a week and not speak about the case.
“By failing to provide adequate information on the status of the investigation as ordered by the court, I’m persuaded that the state did not act in good faith in seeking to continue detaining the respondent,” he said.
“The bail terms shall persist until the respondent is formally charged and or the investigation is concluded.”
Odero’s supporters celebrated by singing, dancing and chanting: “It’s all prayers, it’s not witchcraft.”
READ ALSO: Kenya Starts Autopsies Of ‘Starvation Cult’ Deaths
Kenyan police arrested Odero last Thursday over the “mass killing of his followers” and closed his New Life Prayer Centre and Church that lies south of the coastal town of Malindi.
A total of 109 people have so far been confirmed dead in the Shakahola forest case, the majority of them children.
Autopsies carried out so far on about 40 of the bodies unearthed in the forest inland from Malindi found that while starvation appeared to be the main cause of death, some of the victims were strangled, beaten or suffocated.
– ‘Innocent and vulnerable followers’ –
Prosecutors have said in court documents that they have credible information linking the corpses exhumed at Shakahola to the deaths of several of Odero’s “innocent and vulnerable followers”.
Police are also investigating information that the bodies were kept in a privately-run morgue before being transported and buried in the forest, according to the documents.
READ ALSO: Another Kenyan Pastor Charged For ‘Mass Killing’ Of Church Members
Prosecutors have also claimed that Odero and Mackenzie share a “history of business investments” including a television station used to pass “radicalised messages” to followers.
In a court filing this week, Odero said he wanted to “strongly disassociate” himself from Mackenzie and disagreed with his teachings.
Mackenzie himself is due back in court on Friday with another 17 co-accused in Mombasa, where prosecutors are expected to ask for him to be detained for 90 days.
The deeply religious Christian-majority country has been stunned by the case and President William Ruto has pledged to take action against unscrupulous churches and cults that have dabbled in criminality.
Odero, a fisherman who was born into poverty, draws huge crowds and he has shared the pulpit with prominent Kenyan figures.
His church can seat 40,000 people and he is also building a helipad, restaurant and an international school on the expansive grounds.
Odero claims “holy” scraps of cloth and water sold at his mega-rallies for 100 Kenyan shillings (75 US cents) can heal any disease, including HIV — provided people have a strong faith.
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Headline
Family Of Five Killed In Iranian Missile Strike After Fleeing Ukraine For Safety In Israel
Published
7 hours agoon
June 28, 2025By
Editor
A Ukrainian family of five who fled Russia’s war in search of safety were killed in Israel by an Iranian missile — the very conflict they thought they had escaped.
Mariia Pieshkurova had brought her 7-year-old daughter, Anastasiia, to Bat Yam, a suburb of Tel Aviv, hoping to get lifesaving cancer treatment and refuge from the violence at home.
Along with Anastasiia’s grandmother, Olena Sokolova, and two young cousins, Illia and Kostiantyn, they had started over — believing they were finally safe.
But on June 15, an Iranian missile tore through their apartment building during a retaliatory strike on Israel, killing them all.
“I really thought they’d be safe,” said Artem Buryk, Anastasiia’s father and Mariia’s former partner. “I never thought they’d go to Israel to escape war — and find it there.”
READ ALSO:US Struck Iran With B-2 Bombers, Submarine-launched Missiles – Top US General
The missile attack, part of Iran’s response to Israeli airstrikes on its territory, collapsed much of the building in Bat Yam.
It took four days to recover Mariia’s body from the rubble.
Their deaths marked a heartbreaking intersection of two wars — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Iran’s conflict with Israel — both of which had already tested the family’s will to survive.
Mariia had moved to Israel in late 2022 after Anastasiia was diagnosed with leukemia.
Ukraine’s hospitals were overwhelmed, and its largest children’s hospital was later destroyed in a missile strike.
In Israel, treatment began immediately. It was effective but costly. Mariia turned to Instagram, sharing photos of her daughter in treatment and videos of Artem pleading for help while serving on Ukraine’s front lines.
READ ALSO:Israel-Iran War: Stranded Nigerians Cry For Help From Underground Shelters
“Masha did everything for her little girl,” said Anastasiia’s godmother, Khrytsyna Chanysheva. “She dedicated her life to her, moved to Israel to get her full treatment.”
Despite the pain, Anastasiia always smiled at visitors.
“She was in pain, and she would close her eyes for a second,” said charity worker Lada Fichkovsi. “But every time I walked into her room, she would smile.”
Her cousins joined the family in May 2024 as the situation in Odesa deteriorated.
“The shelling made my children cry,” said Hanna Pieshkurova, Mariia’s sister. “I decided to let them go.”
Though Israel was at war with Hamas, Mariia had assured her sister that Bat Yam was calm. Air raid sirens were rare, and the Iron Dome defense system offered hope.
READ ALSO:Iran Nabs 22 Suspected Israeli Spies Amidst Escalating Conflict
“Ukrainians often say, ‘This is not Ukraine, it’s not as scary,’” said Inna Bakhareva of Chance4Life, a charity helping sick children in Israel. “They felt secure due to the Iron Dome.”
That sense of security evaporated after Israel struck Iranian targets on June 12. Iran retaliated with missile attacks across Israeli cities.
“Dad, at night I saw how the missiles were falling,” Anastasiia told her father in a voice message the night before she died.
She and her mother had been scheduled to visit the hospital the next morning. The missile struck before dawn.
Mr. Buryk, who had just returned from the front lines near Sumy, received the news that same day.
“I still don’t understand what’s happening,” he said. “I still can’t believe it.”
He used to promise Anastasiia they’d go fishing together when peace returned.
“Every time I talked to her, I’d say, ‘Sweetheart, we’ll go fishing. Just us,’” he said. “And now I just don’t understand. I still don’t even grasp that she’s gone.”
“Last night,” he added quietly, “I sent her voice messages.”
(New York Times)
Headline
Militia Attack On DRC IDP Camp, Kills 10, Mostly Women, Children
Published
19 hours agoon
June 27, 2025By
Editor
An armed group at the centre of a long-running ethnic conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s northeast attacked a camp for displaced people on Friday, killing 10, local sources told AFP.
Bordering Uganda, Ituri province has for years been the scene of pitched battles between the Lendu, a group mainly made up of settled farmers, and the Hema people, typically nomadic herders.
The fighting has led to the deaths of thousands of civilians and the mass displacement of many more.
Friday’s assault on the Djangi displaced persons camp was carried out by the self-proclaimed Cooperative for the Development of Congo (Codeco), a Lendu-aligned militia responsible for previous civilian massacres, the camp’s head told AFP.
READ ALSO:Trump Bans Citizens Of Chad, Congo, 10 Others From Entering US
“They were many and armed with firearms and machetes. They surprised us, they killed 10 displaced people, most of them women and children,” said Richard Likana.
An employee of the Red Cross, who asked to remain anonymous, confirmed the attack, which took place around 60 kilometres (37 miles) from Bunia.
“They were cut up with machetes while others were shot,” the humanitarian worker added.
Congolese army Colonel Ruffin Mapela, the local administrator for Djugu territory where the camp is located, gave the same toll of 10 dead and put the number of injured at 15.
READ ALSO:Heineken Withdraws Staff As Armed Rebels Seize Facilities In Eastern DR Congo
According to local and humanitarian sources, Codeco was responsible for an attack on February 10 which killed 51 people in Ituri province. Most of the victims were also displaced persons.
That raid was said to be a response to a strike by the rival Hema-led Zaire militia in the same area.
Violence between the Hema and Lendu killed thousands in gold-rich Ituri from 1999-2003, which only ended after European forces intervened.
The conflict erupted again in 2017, killing thousands more.
The violence has led to more than 1.5 million people leaving their homes, according to the UN.
AFP
Headline
Israel Wants Global Action Against Iran’s Nuclear Plans
Published
19 hours agoon
June 27, 2025By
Editor
Israel’s foreign minister said on Friday that the world was obliged to stop Iran from developing an atomic bomb, days after Israel claimed it had “thwarted Iran’s nuclear project” in a 12-day war.
“Israel acted at the last possible moment against an imminent threat to itself, the region, and the international community,” Gideon Saar wrote on X.
“The international community must now prevent, by any effective means, the world’s most extreme regime from obtaining the most dangerous weapon.”
READ ALSO:Netanyahu Vows To Thwart ‘Any Attempt’ By Iran To Rebuild Nuclear Programme
Israel and Iran each claimed victory in the war that ended with a ceasefire on June 24.
The conflict erupted on June 13 when Israel launched a bombing campaign, stating it aimed to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon—an ambition Iran has consistently denied.
Following waves of Israeli attacks on nuclear and military sites, the United States bombed three key facilities, with President Donald Trump insisting it had set Iran’s nuclear programme back by “decades”.
READ ALSO:We Would Have Killed Iran’s Supreme Leader If Given Opportunity – Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an address to the nation after the ceasefire, announced that “we have thwarted Iran’s nuclear project”.
However, there is no consensus as to how effective the strikes were.
On Friday, Iran rejected a request by UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi to visit the bombed facilities, saying it suggested “malign intent”.
The comments from Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi came after parliament approved a bill suspending cooperation with the UN watchdog.
In a post on X following the move, Saar said Iran “continues to mislead the international community and actively works to prevent effective oversight of its nuclear programme”.
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