BY SAM ALFAN.
Followers of Kilifi-based Pastor Ezekiel Odero will have to wait longer before they can start listening to his summons through his TV station, which was shut down by the government last month.
This after the Communication and Multimedia Appeals Tribunal, which was expected to start the hearing of an appeal the preacher has filed challenging the closure, was postponed to another date.
The Communication Authority of Kenya shut down World Evangelism TV last month as they probed the preacher over alleged links to pastor Paul Mackenzie, who is custody over deaths of more than 100 people in Shahola in Kilifi County.
CA also accused Pastor Odero of airing inappropriate content on exorcism during the watershed period.
Pastor Odero challenged the shut-down arguing that the CA’s decision was illegal.
The case, however, failed to proceed over lack of quorum.
Tribunal chair Rosemary Kuria informed parties that the tribunal was not properly constituted as she sought further hearing dates.
“As we stand this afternoon, the tribunal is unequipped to hear this matter, as a tribunal we have made various efforts from time last year to follow up with the Ministry of ICT to supply us with new members but they have not done so, so that is the status of tribunal, as we sit we don’t have a quorum,” she said.
Kuria noted that the Appeal by Pastor Ezekiel raised substantive issues which have attracted a lot of public interest and it was, therefore, important to handle them in a fully constituted Tribunal.
“This is in view of that one member, one Collins Wanderi has communicated that he will not be participating in the session of tribunal, the quorum of the tribunal is chairperson and four members and hence is not quorate,” she noted.
Pastor Ezekiel lawyers Danstan Omari, Samson Nyaberi, Cliff Ombeta, Shadrack Wambui and Martina indicated that they will move to the high court.
“We will move to the High court on Friday to bring to the attention of the high court the happenings in the tribunal and seek recourse for the five million Christian followers of Pastor Ezekiel,” said Omari.
According to the lawyer, they will also bring to the attention of the Chief Justice Martha Koome the status of the tribunal.
The TV station is said to have violated 12 other regulations.
Pastor Ezekiel challenged the said decision arguing it was a glaring manifestation of discrimination and extreme unfairness.
“The ministry has always run the television station to the required standards and dutifully filed the relevant documentation with the Communication Authority of Kenya,” he says in the documents filed at the tribunal.
