Sahara Reporters
August 18, 2023
The Kenyan government has banned the church of a suspected cult leader accused of compelling more than 400 of his followers to starve themselves to death in order to “meet Jesus.
The registrar of societies in a gazette notice on Friday said that the licence of the self-proclaimed Pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie's Good News International Ministries was revoked effective from May 19, 2023, an AFP report published by Barron’s New says.
Mackenzie was accused of inciting his followers to starve to death in order to "meet Jesus”, an action that led to the death of over 400 worshippers of the church.
However, official autopsies reportedly showed that while starvation appeared to be the main cause of the death of the church members, some of the victims, including children, were strangled, beaten or suffocated.
Kenyan authorities also banned four other churches including the New Life Prayer Centre and Church headed by flamboyant televangelist, Ezekiel Odero, who has been linked to Mackenzie.
Odero, who was arrested in April following the discovery of human remains in Shakahola forest near the coastal town of Malindi, the bodies which police were that of Mackenzie's followers, is under investigation on charges including murder, aiding suicide, radicalisation and money laundering.
But while prosecutors have linked the two preachers to the death of the church members, Odero was granted bail in May while a court last week extended Mackenzie's detention for a further 47 days pending further investigation.
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