Pastor Ezekiel Odero, a prominent televangelist, faced a setback as the Court of Appeal refused to reinstate the license of his Kilifi-based New Life Prayer Centre and Church. The church, along with several others, had its license revoked last year due to improper registration.

While Odero had previously secured temporary orders preventing the church's closure, the Court of Appeal ruled on Tuesday that he had not exhausted all available legal avenues before approaching the courts.

A panel of three judges—Justices Daniel Musinga, Kathurima Minoti, and M. Gachoka—concurred with Justice Jairus Ngaah’s earlier decision that Odero should have first engaged the Cabinet Secretary (CS) before seeking judicial intervention.

"In light of the consistent decisions of this Court and the Supreme Court that a party must first invoke the dispute resolution mechanisms provided by the law before resorting to the High Court or courts of equal status, we are satisfied that the intended appeal is not arguable,” the court ruled.

Pastor Ezekiel had challenged the High Court’s suspension of his church license, arguing that the court had erred in law, but the appellate court upheld the lower court's decision.