Televangelist Ezekiel Odero is now a free man after the Shanzu law court ruling this evening. Senior principal magistrate Joe Omido ruled that the televangelist was free to leave after paying a three million shillings bond and a surety of the same amount or a cash bail of 1.5 million.
The televangelist had been detained for seven days at the port police station facing accusations of indoctrination of the public, aiding murder, radicalization, and genocide among other crimes.
It was a battle of wits at the Shanzu law courts as the respondent lawyers took to task the prosecution team in their application to link their client to the murders in Shakahola.
The prosecution team led by assistant DPP Peter Kiprop once again requested that they detain the televangelist for another thirty days as they investigated his alleged connection to the Shakahola murders. This was vehemently opposed by the respondents’ lawyers who requested the courts grant their client a reasonable bond or bail and release him adding that he was going to abide by any conditions given to him.
The heated arguments lasted the better part of the morning forcing the magistrate to call for recess and render his ruling later in the afternoon. Outside the court premises, Odero’s supporters praised and worshipped as they prayed for his release.
At around 4 pm, the senior resident magistrate Joe Omido began reading his ruling where he questioned the grounds at which the prosecution team was asking for another thirty days to detain the televangelist yet in the seven days he was in remand, they had nothing to show on the progress of their investigations.
Omido went further to poke holes in the request application to link the televangelist to the murders at Shakahola noting that no witness statements have been recorded to date despite having enough time to file them and present them to the court.
It is against this backdrop that the magistrate ruled on the release of the televangelist on a three million shillings bond with a surety of the same amount or pay a cash bail of 1.5million shillings.
At the same time he is expected to report to the DCI offices once a week and he should not discuss or talk about the Shakahola massacre in public.
After that ruling, outside the law courts, his jubilant supporters sang and danced praising the courts for the release of the televangelist.