Ezekiel Odero, the head of the New Life Prayer Centre and Church, was arrested in the coastal town of Malindi following “allegations of the deaths that have been occurring at his premises,” said Rhoda Onyancha, the government commissioner for the region.

“We have also taken action and closed the prayer centre going forward,” she told reporters, without elaborating further on the nature of the allegations against Odero or his church.

Police have not connected him to Paul Mackenzie Nthenge, the alleged cult leader under investigation for the deaths of 98 people linked to his church also based in the coastal region.

Odero, dressed in his signature all-white garb and clutching a Bible, was transferred from Malindi to the regional police headquarters in Mombasa for questioning.

A wealthy televangelist who draws huge crowds — his church south of Malindi can seat 40,000 — Odero claims that “holy” scraps of cloth sold at his mega-rallies can heal sickness.