A religious community retreated into the forests of eastern Kenya. Then they turned into a starvation cult
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The man who walked into Langobaya Police Station had such a horrific story to tell, it seemed almost unbelievable.
He told officers that he was gravely worried for his young nephews, who were living in the forest with their parents in eastern Kenya.
The man’s brother and his wife had taken them there to join a doomsday cult, run by a preacher, who claimed that they could meet Jesus through starvation.
He was terrified something had happened to them, so police agreed to trek out to the 320-hectare property in the Shakahola forest.
Amid the low-lying scrub and red earth, they made a horrifying discovery.
Two of the man’s nephews had died and were buried in shallow graves, while a third was emaciated and close to death.
The boy, just 8 years old, was rushed to hospital where he is reportedly recovering.
Police arrested the parents on suspicion of starving and then smothering their two children.
They also detained Paul Mackenzie, a taxi driver-turned-televangelist, for allegedly inciting the parents to kill their children.
But when Mackenzie came before a magistrate, he denied having anything to do with the cult, claiming he had stopped preaching years before.
“I am shocked about the accusations placed before me,” he said.
“I closed my church in 2019 … If a person used to worship with me then, they should do it on their own now and not by my name. Follow Christ and not Pastor Mackenzie.”
Content retrieved from: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-21/inside-the-kenya-starvation-cult-in-the-forest/102368272.
