Kenyan Cult Leader Starves 427 Followers to Death, Church Banned
Months after a pastor in Kenya instructed his followers to starve to death in order to meet Jesus, the government has taken action by banning his church and four others to protect citizens from religious extremism. The Registrar of Societies declared on Friday that it had deregistered Good News International Ministries, also known as the Shakahola cult, founded by Paul Nthenge Mackenzie in 2003 with an End Times message.
Earlier this year, authorities discovered that Mackenzie, who appointed himself as the leader of the group, was urging his followers to fast until death to hasten their entrance into heaven. Shockingly, many of his followers obeyed and deprived themselves of food, resulting in their bodies being hastily buried in shallow graves in the sprawling Shakahola forest in Kilifi county.
The number of deaths, dubbed the Shakahola starvation massacre, reached a staggering 427 by August.
Mackenzie, who is currently in prison in Mombasa after surrendering to authorities in April, received news of his church’s deregistration whilst behind bars. The court has granted permission for him to be detained for another 47 days to permit the completion of the investigation.
