Controversial televangelist Pastor Ezekiel Odero has moved to court seeking to retrain the Registrar of Societies from cancelling the registration of New Life Prayer Centre & Church.
The Registrar had threatened to shutdown the church vide a letter dated the 27th April 2023 and served on Ezekiel on 25th May 2023.
According to the letter, the televangelist is required to show cause why the registration of his should not be cancelled upon expiry of the 21 day notice communicated vide Registrar’s letter.
Through lawyer Danstan Omari, pastor Ezekiel wants the court to quash the registrar of Society’s directive to show cause why the registration of New Life Prayer Centre & Church should not be cancelled.
The Kilifi county preacher wants the court to compel the Registrar to forthwith and unconditionally avail to him the file of New Life Prayer Centre & Church for the purposes of filing his annual returns as stipulated by Section 30 of the Societies Act.
“Unless this court moves with celerity and arrests the impending illegality and injustices that are to be occasioned by Registrar, I shall suffer irreparable harm and my congregants’ freedom of religion shall be curtailed in contravention of Article 32 of the Constitution,” Ezekiel states.
The preacher adds that in a well-orchestrated and malevolent scheme to have the registration of his New Life Prayer Centre & Church cancelled drafted a letter dated 27 April 2023 issuing a 21-day notice to him to show cause why his church’s registration should not be cancelled for failure to file its annual returns and barefaced served the said letter on him on 25 May 2023, 8 days after expiry of the intended 21-day notice to him.
He also accuses the Registrar of failing, ignoring, neglecting or refusing to avail the said file to him despite his ceaseless attempts communicated vide his letter dated 11th April 2023 to get the church’s file from the Registrar’s registry for purposes of filing its annual returns.
