The Court has ordered 28 bank accounts attached to controversial preacher Ezekiel Odero frozen for 30 days.
The order was issued following an application by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) that sought to have the accounts frozen linking the preacher to alleged money laundering following intelligence reports that Ezekiel was dealing in organ harvesting business.
The court further ordered for the money held in Ezekiel’s seven Safaricom numbers to be frozen for 30 days pending the completion of investigations.
In their affidavit, DCI stated that Pastor Ezekiel is suspected to be involved in the criminal acts due to his close association with Pastor Paul Mackenzie who is currently in police custody over Shakahola massacre.
They say the accounts at Equity Bank, Co-op Bank, KCB and HFC Banks have been receiving huge transactions which they suspect are proceeds of illicit cash Mackenzie has been receiving from his victims.
Among the bank accounts frozen are those registered in Ezekiel’s name, his wife’s bank accounts, in dollars, Euros and two bank accounts held in Uganda and Tanzania.
Detectives are now asking the court to allow them access to the bank accounts with fears that the said cash might be transferred therefore distorting the investigations process.
“The investigations will enable the applicant to collate confirmatory evidence regarding the financial flow as per allegations,” part of the affidavit by Martin Munene – an officer attached at DCI read.
Meanwhile, Pastor Ezekiel’s plea at the High Court in Mombasa seeking to bar the State from freezing the accounts will be heard on Tuesday.
Ezekiel stated that freezing his account will interfere with ongoing projects in his church.
“The operations of the church, including ongoing construction and development projects within the church premises, will stand paralyzed,” court papers read.
