Mombasa High Court, on Wednesday, May 3, ordered Inspector General Japhet Koome to reopen Pastor Ezekiel Odero's New Life International Church.
The High Court Judge stated that the National Police Service (NPS) must open the church immediately without further delays.
Pastor Ezekiel's lawyers, led by Danstan Omari and Cliff Ombetta, moved to the High Court, accusing the state of infringing on the faithful's right to worship without fear and government interference.
The Church was closed on Thursday, April 27, after police arrested Pastor Ezekiel and charged him with terrorism, indoctrination of the faithful and other charges related to mass killings.
He was also linked to the Shakahola Forest massacre where over 110 bodies were exhumed.
Speaking over the matter, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki stated that Ezekiel had allegedly participated in acts which might have led to the death of his followers.
"It is notified for information of the general public that Ezekiel Ombok Odero the Head of New Life Prayer Centre/Church at Mavueni within Malindi Sub-County of Kilifi County has been arrested and is being processed to face criminal charges related to the mass killing of his followers," Kindiki claimed.
The Kilifi-based Church was hosting more than 100 worshippers when the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) declared the complex a crime scene and closed it down.
Kindiki explained that the worshippers who were allegedly rescued from Mavueni complex underwent interrogation to understand their presence at the compound.
In the statement that was published on the Cabinet Secretary's Twitter account, Kindiki noted that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officers at the regional headquarters in Mombasa County had gathered crucial evidence against Pastor Ezekiel.
However, on Wednesday, May 3, Pastor Ezekiel's Lawyer Danstan Omari claimed that the police got no evidence linking the Preacher to any criminal acts after combing the compound for seven hours.
"We went to Pastor Ezekiel's 300 acres complex with a team of investigators and journalists who were looking for evidence that would link him to any criminal acts.
"They spent more than seven hours looking for graves that might have been dug within the compound but there was none," Omari stated.
