Australian Christian group fights claim it was linked to leader of Kenya starvation massacre doomsday cult
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A Christian doomsday cult responsible for the deaths of more than 400 people from starvation and beatings in Kenya was influenced by an Australian religious group, a parliamentary committee report in the east African nation has found.
The report into the Shakahola massacre, tabled in the Kenyan Senate on 19 October, found that the accused leader of the group, Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, “was influenced by Dave Mackay and Sherry Mackay [Dave and Cherry McKay] from Australia who are founders of a cult movement known as the Voice in the Desert”.
The influence was “largely established through virtual links and social media”, the report found. It also said an “associate” of Dave McKay gave a sermon at Mackenzie’s Good News International church in 2019.
On 3 May 2023 the X/Twitter account for A Voice in the Desert posted: “Recently there has been a tragedy in a church in Kenya that we had links to. Over 100 members of the church have starved themselves to death!” The post promoted an article which has since been removed from the group’s website.
Dave McKay told the Guardian the article dealt with what he understood of Mackenzie’s teaching on prophecy, and how it differed from that of A Voice in the Desert. It was taken down because “new information was coming out, and that it was unwise of us to make too many assumptions about what it was that he really taught”.
Recently there has been a tragedy in a church in Kenya that we had links to.
Over 100 members of the church have starved themselves to death!
Check out this article for more info!https://t.co/D6oIjkz2fe
— A Voice In The Desert (@AVoiceInDesert) May 3, 2023
McKay flatly rejected the report’s finding, saying neither he nor his wife had ever had any contact with Mackenzie, and denied his group’s links had any relevance to the massacre.
Content retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/28/australian-christian-group-fights-claim-it-was-linked-to-leader-of-kenya-starvation-massacre-doomsday-cult.
