Pastor Ezekiel Says 'Mwalimu Wa Maths' Tormented Him In School: "Alinichapa Akaniambia Sina Akili"

• Despite his evident success in gospel ministry, Pastor Ezekiel Odero reveals he was not that good in academics
• The New Life Church founder is a spiritual scion of Pastor Pius Muiru who heads the Maximum Miracle Centre church in Nairobi
• Ezekiel says his poor performance, especially in mathematics, saw his teacher(s) throwing discouraging words at him

Kilifi county - Pastor Ezekiel Odero also has bad blood with his mathematics teacher.

Those teachers were the thorn in the flesh of many Kenyans growing up, going by the scornful memes hitting at them.

The famed televangelist is the founder and resident preacher of the New Life Prayer Centre and Church headquartered in Mavueni, Kilifi county.

"Mwalimu wa maths" takes on Pastor Ezekiel

In an interview with NTV, Ezekiel recalled the discouraging words his teacher would throw at him often despite his determination to succeed in his school works.

He could not outdo himself in mathematics, and his teacher chose to be brutally honest with him.

Ezekiel schooled at Ngodhe Island Primary in Homa Bay county.

"My mathematics teacher would beat me and tell me I don't have anything between my ears He then sent me away from school because of my failure in the subject," he said.

Despite the challenge, Ezekiel topped his KCPE class with 210 marks and proceeded to Miwani Secondary School in Chemelil, Kisumu county, for his A level.

"Funny enough, I garnered 210 marks out of the total 700. Therefore, I was a fool leading others," he jokingly said.

He later proceeded to the Mombasa Polytechnic (present-day Technical University of Mombasa), where he undertook a course in Chemical Processing Technology.

The preacher did not, however, finish his course due to fees challenges.

The rise and rise of Pastor Ezekiel

He opted to venture into preaching as a mentee of Pastor Pius Muiru, who heads the Maximum Miracle Centre in Nairobi.

His strong Christian background helped set him towards a career in the church ministry.

At Muiru's church, Ezekiel started as a choir teacher and a keyboard player before being promoted to praise and worship teacher.

While in Mombasa, where he initially worked as a mason, he met Pastor Sarah, his current wife, who was looking for people to join her in opening a church.

They joined hands and opened their New Life Church church in Shanzu.

Over time, Ezekiel's church grew, becoming a massive attraction to Christian worshippers in Mombasa and outside.

However, after 15 years, the preacher moved his church from Shanzu to Mavueni, Kilifi county, his wife's village.

He purchased a 65-acre parcel of land and built a mega-church on 6.5 acres piece of the land, which is rumoured to have a capacity of 45,000 people.

Besides the church, Ezekiel has been putting up several other facilities on his purchased land.

He built a four-storey flat to accommodate church employees and their family members.

An international school and a university, cottages for church guests, a supermarket, restaurants, a hospital, and a rehab centre are other facilities on the tract.

.Ezekiel and Sarah Odero have been married for over ten years and have three children; two are their biological kids, while one son is adopted.