What Kenya needs to do to prevent another Shakahola
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An old Swahili proverb goes, “Kashangae ferry meli inaelea shilingi inazama (He is surprised that the ferry floats, yet the coin sinks).”
It’s about the tribal wisdom of accepting that much as you try, some things won’t make sense.
The Shakahola forest massacre in Kenya, uncovered in April 2023, left the nation profoundly shocked.
Over 400 bodies in shallow graves. People who starved themselves on a pastor’s orders. Families that handed over everything they owned because someone promised them heaven.
When Kenyan authorities stumbled upon the Shakahola graves, the country demanded answers. But the harder question isn’t what happened – it’s why people keep falling for it.
Since the discovery, there have been claims about the existence of “houses of Satan” being passed off as places of worship, where leaders persuade followers to perform extreme rituals for salvation.
The demands range from surrendering property to the ultimate ask: starving yourself to death. Some followers silently suffer until their health deteriorates to the extent that they can’t take it anymore. Others lose their lives, all in the name of faith.
Dr Kennedy Ongaro, who teaches at Daystar University in Nairobi, has been seeking answers to this inexplicable phenomenon for years.
“Poverty is something tied to a person’s mind,” he tells TRT Afrika. “So, when you tell someone you have a solution to their problems and can lift them out of poverty, they will follow whatever you tell them. That is what you see in the Shakahola believers – they were told to take everything they owned to their pastor and they did.”
Suspension of disbelief
Every now and then, charlatans come forward claiming to have been endowed with supernatural powers. Some claim to be gods. The wonder is that their following keeps growing.
It’s a pattern that repeats itself – extreme demands, willing compliance, deteriorating health and, ultimately, death. All of it done in the name of faith.
Kenya saw this coming. Concerns had been raised for decades, culminating in the first official crackdown under former President Daniel arap Moi’s administration.
In October 1994, Moi set up a special commission led by Archbishop Nicodemus Kirima of Nyeri to investigate allegations of satanic cults. Former cult members testified about initiation rites, mind control, and sundry primeval rituals.
Their stories matched. The commission found scars on the bodies of followers, ritual objects and evidence that backed up the testimonies.
“There was a high degree of consistency in most of the testimonies, which lead us to conclude that satanic cults existed in Kenya, and some of the recorded rituals were dangerous and criminal,” the report states.
The commission also confirmed what many suspected – occultism was widespread, especially among young people and the poor. Witnesses described pentagrams, the number 666, and techniques designed to break down resistance.
Dr Ongaro has an explanation for why cults like the one that perpetrated the Shakahola forest massacre work.
“It stems from a lack of understanding of spiritual and divine matters. Those seeking purification or salvation in religion believe and follow anything that promises them eternal life or healing, without asking questions,” he tells TRT Afrika.
“They believe even a piece of white cloth given to them by a healer contains magical properties. Sometimes, the prescribed rituals harm them or cause death.”
Cultural memory plays a role too. “People don’t want to abandon the traditions of their ancestors. Some are afraid of being cursed so you find these beliefs being passed down generations,” says Dr Ongaro.
Read more https://www.trtafrika.com/english/article/8ca1ca4c53db
Content retrieved from: https://www.trtafrika.com/english/article/8ca1ca4c53db.
