Leader of secretive New Zealand commune admits abusing young female church members

Several former members of the commune described in evidence how the sect's rules gave rise to what they said was a culture of sexual and physical abuse.

AP

July 30, 2025

WELLINGTON: The leader of an isolated and conservative Christian commune in New Zealand pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a dozen indecency and assault charges against women and girls who were members of the religious group.

The admission of guilt from Howard Temple came three days into a trial at which he was accused of abusing members of the Gloriavale commune, aged between 9 and 20 over a period of two decades.

Complainants who appeared in the opening days of Temple's trial at the Greymouth District Court said he had touched or groped them while they were performing domestic duties, including in front of other Gloriavale members during mealtimes, Radio New Zealand reported.

They told the court they were too scared to challenge the leader and feared being told the abuse was their fault.

Temple, who is 85 and known as the Overseeing Shepherd of Gloriavale, earlier denied the two dozen charges, and was scheduled to face a three-week trial. But on Wednesday, his lawyer said the leader would admit to an amended list of 12 crimes.

They included five counts of indecent assault, five of committing an indecent act and two of common assault, Radio New Zealand reported. Some were representative, which means the charges reflect multiple similar acts.

Temple's lawyer didn't respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Howard Temple was charged with decades of abuse as leader of a remote, conservative sect

The charges against the leader spanned from 1998 to 2022 and involved nine complainants.

Gloriavale, a community of about 600 people who live at a settlement on the South Island's remote West Coast, was founded in the 1970s and is mostly estranged from the outside world. Members share all property and money, don't speak to relatives who leave the group, and work and study within the commune.

The sect is known in New Zealand for its conservative beliefs and doctrines. Women and girls wear navy-colored ankle-length dresses with white headdresses, adherents are required to have large families and only men can serve in leadership roles while their wives and children are subservient.

Temple, who was born in the United States and served in the US Navy before migrating to New Zealand, has been the leader at Gloriavale since his predecessor, Hopeful Christian, died in 2018. Christian was sentenced to four years in prison in 1995 on charges of indecent assault against a 19-year-old woman and successfully appealed against convictions on other sexual offending.

Members said the group's rules enabled abuse

The sect attracted attention during a broader official inquiry into decades of abuse at New Zealand's state and religious institutions.

Its final report, published in 2024, found that Gloriavale had for decades prohibited members from reporting crimes to outside authorities. Several former members of the commune described in evidence how the rules gave rise to what they said was a culture of sexual and physical abuse.

Less than a year before he first appeared in court, Temple gave evidence to the inquiry. In his testimony, he said his leadership and a 2020 police investigation into abuse at the commune had prompted "a totally different attitude and way of thinking" in how leaders responded to sexual abuse complaints.

Reporting processes had been inadequate before, he told the inquiry. But now all complainants were believed, Temple said, adding that he had reported alleged abusers to law enforcement himself.

"I will push and I will teach and I will expect it of these people in Gloriavale," he said during the 2022 hearing. "There will be no more abuse in Gloriavale."

He made a public apology in January for abuse by others in the commune, which was rejected by former members of the faith as insincere.

Sentencing likely to come later this year

Temple will next appear in court in August, when a sentencing date for his crimes will be set. Indecent assault carries a penalty of up to seven years in New Zealand.

The country's police welcomed his guilty pleas Wednesday.

"While it would not be appropriate for me to comment further ahead of sentencing, I'd like to acknowledge the victims," Inspector Jaqueline Corner told the AP. "This is a direct result of their willingness and courage to speak up."

https://www.newindianexpress.com/world/2025/Jul/30/leader-of-secretive-new-zealand-commune-admits-abusing-young-female-church-members

'We could hear the screams': Inside the Jesus Army

Kris Holland

BBC News

July 28, 2025

Noel Stanton, the Jesus Fellowship's tyrannical leader, died in 2009 before he could be prosecuted for any crimes.

A small Christian commune that aspired to create heaven on Earth grew to become a cult in which sexual and physical abuse was perpetuated in plain sight.

The Jesus Army church recruited thousands of people to live in close-knit, puritanical communities in Northamptonshire, London and the Midlands.

One of the UK's most abusive cults, it is now the subject of a new BBC documentary and podcast.

They trace the story from its hippy origins as the Jesus Fellowship, through the high-profile launch of the Jesus Army in the late 1980s, to its shocking collapse in the 2000s when the truth about life inside the church started to emerge.

Two survivors have been sharing their experiences.

'It was just horrible'

"I always had these yearnings for a lifestyle that was different to the materialistic lifestyle," he explains.

"This feeling that striving for wealth didn't equate to happiness, and I didn't feel attached to material property in the way that a lot of my friends seemed to be."

In 1976, aged 18, John was told that in the village of Bugbrooke, near Northampton, a Christian preacher called Noel Stanton had created a "communal lifestyle" that had attracted hundreds of young people.

After saving some money, John travelled from his home in Kent to experience it for himself and soon saw the attraction.

"I remember a guy called Andy out in the garden. He was doing some weeding and I remember him singing away to himself while he was doing it.

"And so that was the first thing that really struck me, just how happy everybody looked. I could feel myself melting."

For that life, though, sacrifices needed to be made because "any kind of entertainment was wrong," John says.

"So no more cinema, no more television. And from now on, I would have to stop listening to any music."

But after some time he began to have doubts, including how children were treated.

He says children were disciplined with birch sticks, which "was meant to be a loving form of correction".

John says: "A young child was taken away from the dining room table to be disciplined, and we could all hear.

"His screams as he was hit, and on that occasion, he was hit at least six times and it was just horrible. It was... humiliating for the child. It was humiliating for everybody. Horrible."

John began documenting what he had seen and heard during his time in the Jesus Fellowship.

He eventually left but was branded a "traitor" and no-one from the group was allowed to contact him.

The Jesus Army's headquarters was at New Creation Hall, the Grade II-listed farmhouse in Bugbrooke where Noel Stanton lived.

Philippa began visiting it with her family as a child before they moved to the village permanently in 1986, "a couple of doors down" from Stanton.

"You could feel his influence, actually," she says. "He didn't need to be there."

Many teenagers, including her older brother, were separated from their families and housed elsewhere.

This was all part of Stanton's belief that the family of God was more important than one's biological family.

Philippa says when she was 12 and 13, she became aware that a friend of about the same age was being sexually abused.

She says: "You're constantly being told that you are sinful as a woman. That you're distracting men from God.

"You're called a Jezebel. You're belittled at every opportunity by Noel. So who's gonna believe that, you know, a man, an elder, has done those things to somebody?"

But eventually, while still a teenager, she testified in court against an elder who became the first member of the group to be convicted of sexually assaulting a young person.

She said she was shunned by the leadership and fled the group before eventually founding the Jesus Fellowship Survivors Association.

When the Jesus Army disbanded following Stanton's death in 2009, allegations against him of numerous sexual assaults on boys emerged.

The Jesus Fellowship Church ultimately disbanded in 2019 following a series of historical cases of sexual abuse.

A report by the Jesus Fellowship Community Trust (JFCT), a group tasked with winding up the church's affairs, found one in six children involved with it was estimated to have been sexually abused by the cult.

It is still thought that some of those accused, including 162 former leaders, may have taken up roles in different churches and Northamptonshire Police is liaising with relevant local authorities to see if any safeguarding action is required.

The JFCT said it was sorry for “the severely detrimental impact” on people’s lives, and hoped the conclusion of the redress scheme would “provide an opportunity to look to the future” for all those affected during a 50-year period.

To date, about 12 former members of the Jesus Fellowship Church have been convicted for indecent assaults and other offences.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2je7l06mgo

CultNEWS101 Articles: 2/7/2025 (Zizians)

Zizians

KRON4: Who are the 'Zizians'? Bay Area murder suspect linked to 'cult

KROG4: Who are the 'Zizians'? Recent deaths linked to Bay Area 'cult'

A spree of killings across the country, including one in Vallejo, have been linked to a radical online community called the "Zizians."

Not much is known about the Zizians, but a non-verified online webpage dedicated to preventing people from joining the group calls it "a peculiar online cult that operates in the Bay Area." An investigation by Open Vallejo found that people involved in the recent Vallejo killing and the shooting of a Border Patrol agent in Vermont are possibly connected to the group.

Who are the Zizians?

Open Vallejo reviewed police records, spoke to a person familiar with the group and reviewed years of Internet posts as part of its investigation into the group. It said the Zizians follow a self-described "vegan Sith" ideology.

According to SFist, the Zizians appear to be computer-savvy and well-educated, and many or all of them identify as transgender or nonbinary.

The group follows "Rationalism," an ideology described by Oxford as "the belief that all behaviour, opinions, etc. should be based on reason rather than on emotions or religious beliefs."

Jessica Taylor, a person familiar with the Zizians who was interviewed by Open Vallejo, told the publication that Zizians believe human decisions and their effects are mathematically quantifiable. Veganism and animal rights are a core part of the group's belief, Taylor said.

The Zizians follow a person that goes by "Ziz" and ran a blog that is now shut down. Open Vallejo said Ziz, whose legal name is Jack LaSota, previously lived at the Vallejo property where the recent murder happened.

LaSota was named by the San Francisco Chronicle as one of four people arrested for protesting a Berkeley nonprofit in Sonoma County in 2019. The protestors were allegedly wearing black robes and Guy Fawkes masks as they barricaded off an area where the nonprofit was holding an event.

The Zizans

" ... Transgender and Bigender

All four of the people arrested as part of Ziz's protest were transgender women (the fifth was let go without charges). This is far from coincidence as Ziz seems to go out of her way to target transgender people. In terms of cult indoctrination such folks are an excellent fit. They're often:

Financially vulnerable.
Newly out transgender people are especially likely to already be estranged from friends or family.
It is common for them to lack stable housing.

Many traditional social services (illegally) reject them for cultural or religious reasons (e.g., Christian homeless shelters).
Intolerant attitudes among the underclass hit twice: they can't rely on strangers for help and being transgender often makes them a target for violence; making them outcasts even among outcasts.
Already creating a new identity.

During transition people change their name. This creates an opportunity for Ziz to insert themselves into a recruits ongoing transition. By showing them their "double personhood" as they're abandoning an old identity it's possible to convince recruits to adopt a Zizian name (e.g., left hemisphere / right hemisphere) as their new social identity. 

 

As the name implies transition is a time of transition; old patterns and habits tend to fall away. People who have spent years repressing important parts of themselves suddenly have the opportunity to completely

change their social presentation. This does not always mean someone wants to play the same role as before but a different gender. With the radical changes that can accompany transition come strong opportunities for radicalization. 

 

All of these factors combine to make Ziz, themselves a transgender woman, more credible to recruits than she might otherwise be. A privileged cis person with close family and stable housing might reject boat housing out of hand: "I don't know, that sounds iffy to me". For someone facing mortal danger after their rude ejection into the underclass it's an easier pill to swallow: "It can't be worse than sleeping on the street right?"

Another important concept Ziz uses to manipulate people is the idea of being "bigender". Ziz claims that each hemisphere has a gender and that fairly often people have opposing gender identities between hemispheres. This provides a convenient basis for her to undermine the identity of people she's recruiting. If the target is cis, tell them their other half is trans, if the target is trans tell them their other half is cis. It's a similar disorienting trick to the idea of single and double good. If the target identifies as good tell them their other half is irredeemably evil, if they identify amorally insist that half of them is a saint. The pattern is to take aspects of folks identities that they're invested in and disrupt them by creating a domain of self which Ziz (and only Ziz) has knowledge about so the target is forced to trust their interpretation."

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Chinmayi Sripada questions ‘guru-shishya parampara’ after Rahat Fateh Ali Khan's viral video

Mimansa Shekhar
February 01, 2024

Singer Chinmayi Sripada is not convinced with Pakistani singer and musician Rahat Fateh Ali Khan's clarification post his viral video beating his disciple.

Singer Chinmayi Sripada is not convinced with the clarification rendered by Pakistani singer and musician Rahat Fateh Ali Khan post the latter’s viral video beating a guy. According to Sripada, the victim, reportedly Khan’s disciple, cannot accept the oppression in the power equation.

“In this entire parampara, a lot of us are brainwashed into yes-manning whatever our guru says. Until and unless we actually cultivate a worldview, we don’t realise that a lot of what our gurus have been doing is pretty toxic,” Chinmayi Sripada told us.

‘This sort of physical violence is not new’

In the viral video, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is beating his student with a footwear asking for a “bottle”. In his explanation later, he said the bottle had ‘holy water’, and it was a “personal matter between an ustad and his shagird”.

Sripada, who earlier slammed Khan’s actions on X, later told us that students submit because they are conditioned to think speaking against their teacher is a huge crime and their music will be taken away by God if they do that.

“This sort of physical violence is not new. I’m actually glad that this has come out because the kind of abuse that both men and women go through under their gurus has never really been documented. Several students don’t have access to education, or music tutelage at the same time,” she added.

Chinmayi says in India, people just forgive and forget

The 39-year-old, who is known for her unabashed opinions, was a strong voice during the Me Too in 2018 when she highlighted several musicians as alleged sexual offenders.

She said in India, people just forgive and forget, especially fans. “It’s not going to make any dent for such artistes, because fan worship is blind. If you look at the transgressions of a lot of these musicians, I don’t think anybody really cares. You really think all the artistes who are in this peak of stardom have a squeaky clean image? No. This is some sort of an expression of pure alpha male.”

The Mast Magan hitmaker (2 States, 2014) shared that speaking against such offences comes with repercussions. “There are risks involved when you speak the truth. I have faced work ban by the Tamil film industry. I’m going to the court for the past five and a half years,” she ends.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/htcity/cinema/exclusive-parineeti-chopra-on-husband-raghav-chadha-he-motivated-for-live-singing-hes-my-backbone-knows-my-passion-101706709484659.html

The BBC claims this televangelist was a cult leader. Are they right?

Adesanya Adewusi
Premier. Christianity
January 15, 2024

Last week the BBC claimed the late Nigerian church leader TB Joshua raped and tortured his followers. Speaking to Premier, a woman named Anneka also testified to experiencing sexual abuse, brainwashing and mind reform while staying at Joshua’s notorious compound. Having watched the BBC’s three part documentary Disciples, Adesanya Adewusi says the revelations should serve as a reminder to Christians to test everything

In recent days, allegations of manipulation, abusive control, rape and torture of his followers have been made against the now-deceased pastor and televangelist, TB Joshua. Former members, employees and even his own daughter have come out and accused Joshua of dubious activities which occurred over a space of 20 years.

Temitope Balogun Joshua was the head of the Synagogue of All Nations (SCOAN) church in Lagos, Nigeria. The Church was always perceived as operating on the very edges of mainstream Christianity in Nigeria, nevertheless, Joshua had considerable influence and appeal, exemplified by his six million followers on Facebook.

Founded in 1987, SCOAN enjoyed the global appeal one would normally associate with Western megachurches. SCOAN members often travelled from other African countries and the UK, in order to catch a glimpse of reported miracles and healings.

Prior to Joshua’s death in 2021, Nigerian Immigration Service figures for 2014 indicated that an incredible six out of every ten foreign travellers coming to Nigeria for religious reasons were bound for SCOAN. In the same year that these figures were released, a SCOAN guest house tragically collpased, claiming the lives of 115 people. Joshua was never prosecuted, despite being found guilty of negligence for covering up the fact that the building had structural failings. The documentary also alleges Joshua impeded emergency services who tried to rescue victims and had dead bodies hidden. Many believe Joshua was never properly investigated because of his association with influential figures. It was felt that politicians had a vested interest in the success of Joshua’s ministry as being associated with him gave credibility to their image.

There will be those who will question why Joshua’s accusers stayed in a supposedly abusive environment for so long. Before rushing to judge the alleged victims, we need to remember that none of us are immune to being deceived as they claim they were. It is only by the grace of God that one is able to stand. This should be a stark reminder of Paul’s warning not to put confidence in our own abilities (1 Corinthians 10:12).

The documentary essentially depicts Joshua as the leader of a cult who masqueraded as the pastor of a church. Some of the scenes in the documentary – such as a woman wailing while crawling on the floor – are disturbing to watch.

The implication of the documentary is that under TB Joshua, SCOAN operated as a cult. Joshua seduced people into the cult and kept them there through brainwashing. Many were attracted to his charisma, and he was thought to be anointed. Cults tend to target vulnerable, desperate, marginalised and idealistic people who want to transform society. They use this desire to be part of something big to gain the devotion of their followers. The cult leader uses the deference that his followers have for him to manipulate them. Since he is considered to be God’s mouthpiece on earth, questioning him would be tantamount to rebelling against God. Faked miracles give added legitimacy a leader’s claim to be a man of God thereby, causing his followers to acquiesce to his commands.

Another feature of cults is that many of its members will leave behind homes, families and friends in the belief that the cult and its leader offered them something better. He will use this to convince them that they now have no else but him to depend on. He will strip people of their individuality, knowing that conformity would mean that it would be difficult to question his authority. A cult leader will isolate anyone perceived to be a troublemaker – even family members – from the rest of his followers. Shunning is a common feature of ‘disciplining’ those who are perceived to be challenging the leader’s authority.

There are four types of people in a cult. Firstly, there is the cult leader who exerts complete control over his followers. Secondly, there are the enablers who knowingly follow the cult leader’s commands. Thirdly, there are the followers who are so brainwashed that they think what they are experiencing is normal. Lastly, there are those who know something is wrong but are afraid to speak up because they think that they will not be believed. TB Joshua – as portrayed in this documentary – fits the definition of and bears all the hallmarks of a cult leader.

This documentary reminds us that we are increasingly living in times of deception, which Jesus said would be rampant in the church before his return (Matthew 24:24). This should cause us to ponder the unhealthy way we sometimes place leaders on a pedestal. Since the pastor is seen as God’s ‘right hand man’ there is an attitude of ‘whatever he says goes.’ This breeds an environment of spiritual laziness where people do not think for themselves. It is within this environment that deception – whether on the part of leaders or followers – is able to flourish. We would all do well to copy the example of the Bereans who searched the scriptures for themselves (Acts 17:11-12). Our hope needs to rest in Jesus alone, not in any pastor or ministry. In the midst of everything, he is our only solid rock (Matthew 16:18).

The three part series, Disciples: The Cult of TB Joshua, is available now on BBC iPlayer

The Synagogue Church of All Nations has not responded to the recent allegations but says previous claims against the church have been unfounded.



https://www.premierchristianity.com/reviews/the-bbc-claims-this-televangelist-was-a-cult-leader-are-they-right/17056.article

Kenya death cult leader charged after hundreds found dead in forest

Self-proclaimed pastor arrested over deaths of more than 200 people, most of whom had died of hunger

The Guardian
Agence France-Presse in Nairobi
January 23, 2024

A Kenyan court has charged a cult leader and dozens of suspected accomplices with manslaughter over the deaths of more than 200 people.

Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie and 94 other suspects, including his wife, pleaded not guilty to 238 counts of manslaughter, according to court documents seen by AFP.

Mackenzie, who was last week also charged with terrorism, is alleged to have incited his acolytes to starve to death in order to “meet Jesus” in a case that provoked horror across the world.

He was arrested last April after bodies were discovered in the Shakahola forest near the Indian Ocean. Autopsies revealed that the majority of the 429 victims had died of hunger. Others, including children, appeared to have been strangled, beaten or suffocated.

The 238 victims mentioned in Tuesday’s hearing were killed between January 2021 and September 2023 at Shakahola, court documents said.

Mackenzie pleaded not guilty to terrorism at another hearing last week in the port city of Mombasa. He is due to undergo a mental health assessment to establish if he is fit to stand trial for murder at another court in the coastal town of Malindi.

A largely Christian nation, Kenya has struggled to regulate unscrupulous churches and cults that dabble in criminality.

The grisly case, dubbed the “Shakahola forest massacre”, led the government to flag the need for tighter control of fringe denominations.

Questions have been raised about how Mackenzie managed to evade law enforcement despite having a history of extremism and previous legal cases.

A Senate commission of inquiry reported in October that the father of seven had faced charges in 2017 for extreme preaching. He was acquitted of charges of radicalisation in 2017 for illegally providing school teaching after rejecting the formal educational system that he claimed was not in line with the Bible.

In 2019, he was also accused of having links to the death of two children believed to have been starved, suffocated and then buried in a shallow grave in Shakahola. He was released on bail pending that trial, which is ongoing.

There are more than 4,000 churches registered in the east African country of 53 million people, according to government figures.



https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/23/kenya-death-cult-leader-charged-after-hundreds-found-dead-in-forest

Ringleader in Marin, East Bay murders loses death-penalty appeal

Marin Independent Journal 

January 22, 2024

The California Supreme Court has affirmed the death penalty for a man convicted in a murder spree in Marin and Contra Costa counties.

The case centers on Glenn Taylor Helzer, a self-proclaimed prophet who led a small religious group that called itself “the Children of Thunder.” The former Concord resident pleaded guilty in 2005 for his involvement in the 2000 murders of five people, including two victims in Marin County, in order to cover up his extortion plot.

Helzer’s brother, Justin, was sentenced to death for participating in the killings after he pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. He hanged himself in his cell at San Quentin State Prison in 2013.

An associate of the Helzers, Dawn Godman, pleaded guilty for joining the plot and received 38 years to life in prison as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.

Godman believed that Glenn Taylor Helzer, who went by the name Taylor, was a prophet of God, the California Supreme Court said in its 85-page ruling, which was issued Monday.

“She gathered with (the) defendant and Justin to declare war on Satan by openly stating their intent to follow through with what they believed was God’s Will,” Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero wrote.

Taylor Helzer first plotted to steal money from Ivan and Annette Steinman, an elderly Concord couple who used to be his clients when he was a stockbroker. The Helzer brothers went on to murder the Steinmans at their home.

Taylor Helzer later fatally stabbed his 22-year-old girlfriend, Selina Bishop, daughter of blues guitarist Elvin Bishop, at his residence after using her to deposit money as part of his financial scheme, the ruling said.

Because of concerns he could be identified as Bishop’s killer, Taylor Helzer and his brother traveled to western Marin and murdered her mother, Jennifer Villarin, and her companion, James Gamble, at Villarin’s apartment in Woodacre.

Authorities found the dismembered remains of three victims in duffel bags and that had been dumped in the Mokelumne River in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

Taylor Helzer’s automatic death penalty appeal began in 2008. His attorney, Jeanne Keevan-Lynch, argued that he did not receive a fair trial because of the conduct of investigators and the trial judge.

Keevan-Lynch claimed that Marin County sheriff’s detectives violated Helzer’s Fourth Amendment rights by seizing items not listed on their search warrant when they investigated his home.

“We reject defendant’s claims and conclude blanket suppression of the evidence is not warranted,” Guerrero wrote in the court opinion.

The court was also not persuaded by Keevan-Lynch’s argument that her client received an unfair trial because the trial judge excused a potential juror who was unsure if she could put her moral beliefs aside to possibly vote on the death penalty.

The justices also disagreed with the defendant’s claims that jurors were unfairly influenced by the prosecution displaying graphic photographs of the murder victims in the trial.

Guerrero noted that the pictures showed evidence that the killers tried to conceal the victims’ identities by removing their teeth and tattoos.

“Here, the disputed photographs shed light on the circumstances of the crimes, because, as the trial court reasoned, they were strong evidence of defendant’s consciousness of guilt, the seriousness of his crimes, and the manner of death and subsequent disposal of the victims’ bodies,” she wrote.

Keevan-Lynch declined to comment on the ruling on Monday.

Ted Asregadoo, a spokesperson for the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office, said that although the Supreme Court affirmed the trial outcome, “it does not ease the profound grief endured by those who lost their loved ones.”

Marin County sheriff’s Sgt. Adam Schermerhorn said, “Mr. Helzer’s actions are irredeemable, and his sentence being upheld shows the commitment that our state’s criminal justice system has to the members of our communities.”

https://www.marinij.com/2024/01/22/ringleader-in-marin-east-bay-murders-loses-death-penalty-appeal/ 

'I should be in prison or dead': Cameron Black on his journey from cult to campus

Lauren Boles
The Stanford Daily
January 23, 2024

Content warning: This article contains references to child abuse, sexual assault and suicide.

“Based on what I’ve been through, I should be in prison or dead,” Cameron Black ’25 said.

Born into a cult led by his father, who proclaimed himself to be God, Black’s early life in Sedona, Ariz. was anything but ordinary. This familial cult consisted of nine people and operated under unconventional religious and sexual practices, deeply entangled in manipulation and abuse, Black said.

“Don’t try to make sense of it because it doesn’t make sense,” he said as he explained the cult’s philosophy. “It’s like my father combined the Bible, sci-fi books and ‘The Matrix’ into one big ball of crazy.”

Describing his childhood, Black recounts harrowing experiences of physical and psychological torture at the hands of his father.

“Starting at 7 years old, for a few years, I would wake up at 2 a.m. to my father standing over me with a 45 caliber pistol or his machete, and he would ‘fake’ kill me,” Black said.

Black’s childhood was a continuous battle for survival. His father’s abuse included being left outside naked in below freezing temperatures for hours, forced to exclusively eat smoothies made up of food from the trash and being routinely drowned starting at age 4.

During periods of forced starvation and isolation, Black would escape into other worlds through books. He would reread scenes where food was described in vivid detail, imagining himself eating the meals and becoming full.

“I didn’t know any different, but I knew something was wrong,” Black said.

Amid this terrifying chaos, Black recounts fleeting moments of normalcy — mountain biking, Fleetwood Mac playing in the house and large home-cooked family dinners.

“It’s human for us to remember the bad things. Cuts leave scars, but kisses don’t,” Black said.

His father used to read the children bedtime stories and take them to Gap to buy clothes. But after Black turned 5 or 6 years old, he recalls a change in his father that never went away.

After being isolated from the outside world, Black was allowed to attend school for the first time in eighth grade. “I had no social skills, I was failing my classes, getting bullied and became addicted to cigarettes and weed,” Black said.

In the same year, when Black was 13 years old, he and his mother were told to leave the cult amid mounting legal pressures on his father. They signed a contract promising never to return in exchange for a truck and some cash.

Just a few months later, Black’s father committed suicide.

Black had great difficulty adjusting to the outside world. He found himself homeless and involved with men who ended up being part of the international gang MS-13.

“They kept me fed, and they kept me high. Even though they were dangerous, they were really funny and nice to me,” Black said. While with them, he became addicted to heroin. As he 13 years old and would not arouse suspicion, Black was used by members to transfer powdered heroin for their drug deals.

At 15, Black was placed in a therapeutic boarding school where his therapist repeatedly sexually abused him.

Black was admitted to this facility by his extended family, who had no involvement in the cult, to help him recover from the unhealthy sexual behaviors and violence he was exposed to growing up. However, Black said, “it made me even more confused and brought me a lot of shame.”

After this, Black was shuffled between eight residential treatment centers (RTCs) for youth. He was expelled from each for various reasons, including hypersexuality, involvement in bullying or being bullied and instances of self-harm, including a suicide attempt.

At one RTC in Utah, Black was exposed to equine therapy. “Horses were one of the few things that saved my life. I learned how to groom, rope and train them, and it brought me a sense of calm,” Black said.

Black’s biological uncle, Adam Whizin, and his wife, Kate Maloney, started supporting Black when he was 20 years old. He refers to them as his “chosen father” and “Soul Mama.”

Black never formally graduated high school, but Maloney encouraged him to get his GED and enroll in community college.

“Cameron had been called worthless his entire life, so the biggest challenge was making him believe that an education was possible for him,” Maloney said.

With time and support, Black excelled at Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) both in his academics and extracurriculars. Black found out he was accepted to Stanford as a transfer student right before his SBCC graduation — a moment he said he will remember forever.

At Stanford, Black is a Resident Assistant (RA) for the substance-free Well House, a coordinator for Cardinal Recovery, a driver for 5-SURE and the Executive Director of Transfer Advocacy for the ASSU.

“I am at my best when I am serving others and have healthy structure in my life,” Black said, reflecting on how he manages all his roles on campus.

Black’s commitment to his Well House residents goes beyond official duties, offering support as a caring friend.

“One night, I experienced a panic attack that badly affected the muscles in my back. Cameron offered to draw a bath for me and it helped both physically and mentally,” wrote Lydia Goedert ’24, one of Black’s residents.

“Cameron is shedding the old labels he was repeatedly given: troublemaker, liar, stealer,” Maloney said. “He’s embracing his new identity as a loving person who is passionate about making a difference.”

Black hopes to create a comprehensive program for child abuse prevention and trauma recovery, where every individual, regardless of their circumstances, has access to therapeutic, psychiatric and wellness resources.

“Hurt people hurt people… If we take into account the shame and social stigmatization of being an abuser, it’s almost impossible to reach out for help,” Black said in a TEDxStanford talk.

He aims to break the cycle of intergenerational violence by transforming shame and stigma into a paradigm of education, healing and compassion.

“I’m grateful for the people in my life who have stuck with me and saw something in me that I wasn’t able to see in myself,” Black said.

His message to society is one of understanding and love — to recognize the underlying causes of abuse and to extend support to those who suffer.





Support is available for students through Stanford’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) 24/7 at (650) 723-3785. The Graduate Life Office (GLO) is available 24/7 via the Stanford operator at (650) 723-7288, pager 25085 and during office hours at (650) 736-7078. The Bridge Peer Counseling Center offers counseling by trained students 24/7 at (650) 723-3392. The Faculty Staff Help Center, located in Kingscote Gardens, offers confidential help for Stanford faculty and staff.

https://stanforddaily.com/2024/01/23/i-should-be-in-prison-or-dead-cameron-black-on-going-from-cult-to-campus/

Kenyan court: Charge doomsday cult leader within 2 weeks or we release him on our terms

A Kenyan court has warned prosecutors that it will release under its own terms a pastor and others accused of being behind the deaths of 429 people believed to be his cult followers if they aren’t charged within two weeks


TOM ODULA 
ABC News
Associated Press
January 9, 2024

NAIROBI, Kenya -- A Kenyan court warned prosecutors Tuesday it will release under its own terms a pastor and others accused of being behind the deaths of 429 people believed to be his cult followers if they aren't charged within two weeks.

For months since the arrests last April, prosecutors have asked the court for permission to keep holding Paul Mackenzie and 28 others while they look into the case that shocked Kenyans with the discovery of mass graves and allegations of starvation and strangulation.

But Shanzu Senior Principal Magistrate Yusuf Shikanda noted that the suspects had been detained for 117 days since the last application for an extension and it was enough time to have completed investigations.

The defense has argued that the constitutional rights for bail for Mackenzie and the others were being violated since they haven't been charged.

The magistrate said the suspects had been detained without trial for longer than anyone in Kenya since the adoption of the country's 2010 constitution that outlawed detention without trial.

Mackenzie is serving a separate one-year prison sentence after being found guilty of operating a film studio and producing films without a valid license.

The cult case emerged when police rescued 15 emaciated parishioners from Mackenzie's church in Kilifi County in Kenya's southeast. Four died after the group was taken to a hospital.

Survivors told investigators the pastor had instructed them to fast to death before the world ends so they could meet Jesus.

A search of the remote, forested area has found 429 bodies and dozens of mass graves, authorities have said. Autopsies on some bodies showed starvation, strangulation or suffocation.

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/kenyan-court-charge-doomsday-cult-leader-2-weeks-106231083

Cult Leader in Kenya to Face 191 Charges of Child Murder

The authorities say Paul Nthenge Mackenzie told his followers to starve themselves and their children to death in the Shakahola Forest, where hundreds of bodies have been exhumed.
 

Mohamed Ahmed reported from Mombasa, Kenya, and Emma Bubola from London.

New York Times
January 17, 2024
 
A Kenyan judge on Wednesday said that a doomsday cult leader who the authorities say directed his followers to starve themselves must undergo a mental health evaluation before prosecutors formally charge him with the murders of 191 children.
 
The charges relate to the discovery last April of mass graves in the Shakahola Forest of southeastern Kenya, where hundreds of people had come to follow the teachings of the cult leader, Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, a former taxi driver turned televangelist. Mr. Mackenzie had marketed Shakahola to his followers as an evangelical Christian sanctuary from what he claimed was the fast-approaching apocalypse. The Kenyan authorities say that he told members of his church to starve themselves to death to meet Jesus; more than 400 bodies were exhumed from the forest.
 
Mr. Mackenzie — who has denied the allegations — appeared in court on Wednesday in the Kenyan coastal city of Malindi. The judge, Mugure Thande, gave prosecutors until Feb. 6 to make sure that he and his co-defendants are fit to stand trial.
 
The prosecutor’s office shared with journalists a list of charges that it intends to bring against Mr. Mackenzie and 30 of his followers, including 191 counts of child murder.
 
The office said in a separate statement on Tuesday that 95 people in total would be charged with crimes in connection with the case, which it called the “Shakahola Massacre.”
 
Rights groups have protested previous efforts to prosecute Mr. Mackenzie’s followers, arguing that the accused should instead be helped.
 
The Kenyan government’s pathologists have said that many of the bodies exhumed from Shakahola indicated death by starvation, but some also showed signs of strangulation.
 
One former member of the cult told The New York Times that Mr. Mackenzie had preached that children should be the first to die — made “to fast in the sun so they would die faster” — so their parents could ensure that the children would reach heaven.
 
As Hussein Khalid, the executive director of Haki Africa, a rights organization that has closely monitored the case, said, “When adults died it meant their children had already starved to death.”
 
The discovery of the mass graves in the Shakahola Forest, an 800-acre region of sun-scorched scrub and spindly trees, prompted outrage and soul-searching in Kenya. Some of the bodies had been buried as early as 2021, raising questions from rights groups and observers about how the police and intelligence services had failed to prevent the deaths.
 
The case, which on Wednesday again dominated news coverage in Kenya, has also raised questions about whether the Kenyan authorities should regulate religious institutions and about how to address religious extremism in the country.
 
Emma Bubola is a reporter based in London. More about Emma Bubola
 
A version of this article appears in print on  , Section A, Page 5 of the New York edition with the headline: Cult Leader Blamed in Children’s Deaths.
 
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/17/world/africa/kenya-cult-leader-murders-mackenzie.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
 

Kenya cult leader Paul Mackenzie faces terror charges over mass deaths

BBC
January 16, 2024

A suspected Kenyan cult leader is to be charged with murder and terrorism over the deaths of more than 400 people found in mass graves, prosecutors say.

Paul Mackenzie was arrested in April after the discovery of hundreds of bodies, some of whom were said to have starved themselves to death.

Kenyan prosecutors say that he and 94 others will be charged in court in Malindi on Wednesday.

The self-proclaimed pastor has denied responsibility for the deaths.

The bodies of 429 people, including children, have been dug up from grave sites in Shakahola, a remote forest about two hours' drive west of Malindi. Most showed signs of starvation, but some - children among them - may have been assaulted.

Mr Mackenzie is alleged to have encouraged members of his Good News International Church to move there and prepare for the end of the world.

One witness told the BBC that people were given instructions in January last year to begin fasting so that they could "get to heaven".

But Mr Mackenzie has said the deaths could not be down to him as he closed his church in 2019.

Investigators had asked for his time in custody to be extended several times as they continued their investigation.

They said their inquiries had now gathered enough evidence to charge him and the others with offences including murder, assault and "facilitating the commission of a terrorist act".

They are also facing a charge of "subjecting a child to torture", according to a statement from the director of public prosecutions.

The charges were listed a week after the court gave the prosecutors a fortnight's deadline to make them public or face the possibility that the suspects could be released.

Out of the 95 suspects, 64 had been found in Shakahola and were initially treated as victims and moved to a rescue centre.

However, investigators later found that many of them had children who had died in the forest.

Some of them had given false names and identities and failed to account for their children.

Mr Mackenzie was convicted last November of illegally operating a film studio associated with his preaching and distributing films without a valid filming licence.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-6799203

Why the police are finding it hard to prosecute Mackenzie

Mary Wambui
Nation

January 12, 2024

On April 14 last year, police officers who had been covertly trailing the activities of Paul Mackenzie following his links to the murder of two children in Shakahola were informed that 10 more people had died in the forest after starving.

The revelations kicked off a probe that would cast a spotlight on religious cultism in the country. Mr Mackenzie was released on cash bail but, out of fear that his activities would soon be exposed, began living in secrecy, sending his followers to buy him food and other necessities.

This is until they exposed his activities in the forest, leading to his arrest and detention.

Nine months down the line, however, Mr Mackenzie is yet to take plea for any of the over 400 deaths that have been documented so far.

Despite multiple evidence from his surviving followers and testimonies by relatives of victims, detectives probing the case are still trying to link evidence collected from the crime scene to murder.

The Nation understands that items collected as evidence included exercise books, Sim cards, title deeds, clothes and burial paraphernalia, which provide key clues such as names of members of a family that was living in one of the 220 homesteads located in the vast 4,000-acre forest.

Chief Government Pathologist Johansen Oduor told the Nation all of the exhumed bodies could not be identified as they were badly decomposed .

Detectives discovered that, in a bid to aid faster decomposition of the bodies, the people conducting burial rites would wrap them in sheets or canvas.

Delays in prosecuting Mr Mackenzie and pressure from the public to have the case concluded saw senators tour the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) lab last October in search of answers.

To successfully prosecute murder, the investigating officer has to establish the suspect's intent to commit the crime and link it to the action committed that led to the victim's death.

According to a detective who cannot be named owing to the sensitivity of this matter, investigators probing the case explained that they had run out of key reagents for use in the DNA sequencing, and which are not available locally, therefore, none of the bodies had been matched by October.

Additionally, the fact that the DCI lab was not fully operational further hindered the probe.

Furthermore, orders from Director Criminal Investigations Mohamed Amin that evidence of the murder charge be proven beyond reasonable doubt to avoid the risk of presenting half-baked evidence or conducting shoddy investigations have seen detectives scouring the vast forest thoroughly, one homestead after the other, the officer said.

To tighten their evidence, they had to fetch the coordinates of each grave and homestead for use by the judge handling the murder case in the event the hearing of the case requires them to revisit the crime scene.

Detectives also established that most of the children ended up in the forest with their mothers and, in cases where fathers claimed to have lost their children to the cult, investigators have to trace the child's roots through visits to their rural homes and with the help of the Children's Department.

This explains why, last month, Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Jami Yamina told a Shanzu court that, though 131 names of children suspected to have died have been found, they are yet to be matched with the bodies being preserved at the Malindi mortuary.

mwambui@ke.nationmedia.com

https://nation.africa/kenya/news/why-the-police-are-finding-it-hard-to-prosecute-mackenzie-4489084

 

SHAKAHOLA: How Paul Mackenzie was inspired by Australian cultists

Valentine Obara
Nation
October 23, 2023

An Australian cult linked to controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie had been taken to task over questionable kidney donations, according to reports seen by the Nation.

Mr Mackenzie and his wife, who are leaders of the "Jesus Christians" group, have been accused by a Senate committee of inciting religious extremism in the country that led to the deaths of over 400 people in Shakahola, Kilifi County.

An independent search by the Nation established that Dave and Sherry Mackay had been accused of brainwashing their believers into donating their kidneys to complete strangers under suspicious circumstances.

They also drained their followers' bank accounts and separated them from their families.

The Senate ad hoc committee that is investigating the Shakahola deaths and is chaired by Tana River Senator Danson Mungatana mentioned the Mackays in its report, claiming that Mr Mackenzie was indoctrinated by their teachings.

According to the committee, Mr Mackenzie used virtual links and social media to reach out to the foreigners and their cult dubbed,"Voice in The Desert".

Furthermore, it is alleged that he hosted their associate in Makongeni, Nairobi City County, who delivered anti-government [sermons], particularly stating that the Huduma Namba was "the mark of the beast".

Additionally, the associate allegedly urged followers to abandon earthly possessions and follow Mr Mackenzie to the "promised land", which was later established to be located in Malindi.

Reports show that, in the early 2000s, the Mackays and their followers hit headlines across Australia and the UK over questionable organ donations, particularly kidneys.

According to media reports at the time, the group's members from Kenya, Britain, the US and Australia had donated their kidneys as part of their desire to "live selflessly", following teachings by the cult. These occurrences led the group to be referred to as the "kidney cult".

The believers donated their organs secretly as their kin, who were interviewed by journalists, said they suspected that they had been brainwashed.

"Information [made available] to the committee established that Paul Mackenzie was influenced by Dave Mackay and Sherry Mackay from Australia, who are founders of a cult movement known as Voice in the Desert. The teachings of this cult include forsaking all private ownership of property, surrendering earthly possessions and relocating to an isolated communal place where members serve one master," the committee report states.

In May this year, documents filed at the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi indicated that some of the Shakahola victims may have had their organs harvested before they were buried in mass graves.

The documents filed by Chief Inspector Martin Munene, in an application seeking to freeze bank accounts belonging to New Life Centre and Church leader Ezekiel Odero, who was linked by detectives to Mr Mackenzie, alluded to a wide network of organ traffickers in the country that is under investigation.

"Post-mortem reports have established missing organs in some of the bodies of the victims so far exhumed. It is believed that trade on human body organs has been well-coordinated involving several players," said the officer.

Associates of the two Australian preachers had also been accused of kidnap across different countries, including Kenya and the UK.

In Kenya, records show that Roland and Susan Gianstefani, who are members of the "Jesus Christians", were arrested in 2005 over the disappearance of a woman and her seven-year-old son.

The church later released a video of the woman and her son on their website and YouTube channel, with the woman defending the two suspects while claiming that she was in hiding from her father who wanted to take custody of her son. It later emerged that Roland and Susan had encountered a similar case in the UK in 2000 when a British judge handed them suspended six-month jail sentences for refusing to reveal the whereabouts of a teenage boy who had left home to join their group.

In their report, the Senate committee expressed frustrations in their bid to expose the truth about the Shakahola massacre.

They accused Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki and his Health counterpart Susan Nakhumicha of blocking government representatives summoned to appear before the committee from testifying.

"Despite extending invitations and issuing summonses, the committee was unable to procure the attendance of key witnesses. These included former Kilifi County Security Committee members, who were transferred following the discovery of the tragedy in Shakahola forest," the report reads in part.

Prof Kindiki informed the committee that some of the transferred officers were witnesses and others suspects in the ongoing investigations.

The committee recommended that "the Attorney-General declares Mackenzie's Good News International Ministries a society dangerous to the good government of the Republic of Kenya pursuant to section 4 (1) (ii) of the Societies Act (Cap 108) within thirty (30) days of adoption of the report by the Senate."

It also accused the country's justice and security systems of failing to take appropriate action early enough despite the matter having been extensively publicised in the media and by human rights organisations, victims' families and political leaders.

- Additional reporting by Farhiya Hussein

https://nation.africa/kenya/news/how-paul-mackenzie-was-inspired-by-australian-cultists-4409936

 

Report reveals how Makenzi's deceptive tactics lured followers

Benard Sanga

Standard 

October 20, 2023

A Senate report has accused Paul Makenzi of being the mastermind of the Shakkahola massacre and recommended he be charged for the death of at least 429 people.

The report by the Tana River Senator Danson Mungatana-led committee ad hoc committee has revealed how Makenzi lured hundreds of gullible followers to their deaths, including killing those who defied his starvation orders.

The team established that Makenzi intensified his recruitment during the uncertainty and anxiety occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic.He recruited hundreds of vulnerable people through agents in different parts of the country who systematically lured followers to their deaths through deceptive recruitment tactics, states the report.

The report released yesterday claims that Makenzi manipulated his followers by promising them land in Shakahola. Firstly, it says, he financially exploited them by requiring them to sell their assets and hand over the proceeds to him.

The committee established that Makenzi systematically concealed properties and money that he fraudulently and unlawfully acquired from his victims.

Other than using the agents, the report states that Makenzi also lured people to the forest through preaching, using a variety of media channels to disseminate his harmful doctrines, including social media platforms such as YouTube.

"He used virtual links and social media to foster foreign links with "Voice in the Desert", an Australian cult founded by Dave and Sherry Mackay and hosted their associate in Makongeni area, Nairobi County, who delivered summons echoing anti-government sentiments, particularly stating that Huduma Namba was "the mark of the beast", It states.

"He intentionally isolated his followers by moving into Shakahola Forest, a remote and inaccessible area with no access to social services, and caused his followers to cut links with family members, thus leaving them dependent and without protection. He strategically and systematically targeted and isolated extended families, and as a result of his atrocious actions, entire families perished, leaving relatives devastated. In some instances, entire lineages were wiped out," it says.

Inside the over 800-acre Shakahola forest, Makenzi established an armed gangthat violently enforced his starvation doctrine by attacking and killing followers who changed their minds about willingly starving themselves to death.

But the "deserters", according to the report, were first arraigned before a makeshift court where mock trials were conducted and were sentenced.

"He set up a makeshift court where he held mock trials of followers who had refused to comply with starvation orders. The orders from this makeshift court would be enforced by the armed gang," states the report

The Mungatana-led committee established that Makenzi exploited the vulnerability and subjected children to painful and slow death by starvation;

The children were denied access to health care, basic education, basic nutrition, shelter, and the right to be protected from abuse and neglect in clear violation of Article 53 of the Constitution of Kenya, the Children's Act, 2022, and the Basic Education Act, 2013, states the report. 

"While his followers faced a slow and painful death through starvation, Makenzi and his gang of violent enforcers enjoyed elaborate meals as evidenced by menus and cooking apparatus found at his house in Shakahola Forest," it says.

Makenzi was first linked to the death of his followers in March this year after he was arrested on allegations of the murder of two children who had succumbed to starvation and suffocation.

Following arraignment in court, Makenzi was granted bail of Sh10,000 by a Malindi Magistrate's Court.

But the Mungatana committee reports that after he left protective custody, Makenzi intensified the starvation orders that caused the deaths and concealment of hundreds of bodies of his deceased followers.

"As part of concealing the mass graves where his followers had been buried, Makenzi planted vegetables on the graves," states the findings of the report.

It adds; "After his arrest without any iota of remorse and in full knowledge of the impact of his heinous acts further intimidated the public in his now infamous brazen remark, "kitawaramba" loosely translated to mean "it will catch up with you".

During the rescue process by security agencies, some of the survivors were found locked in their houses emaciated and frail, naked and their legs and hands tied with either turbans or ropes.

But the committee now claims that Makenzi also buried victims who were still living but near death as a result of starvation to terminate their lives.

"Acting in concert with his goons, savagely and sadistically forced starvation of his followers. He radicalized and indoctrinated his followers, causing them long-term psychological, physical, and emotional harm which will require long-term care and rehabilitation," said the report. 

It concludes that Makenzi's gruesome actions caused a long-term negative social, cultural, ecological, and environmental impact on the local community in the Shakahola area.

 

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:xta4-Vg8nKwJ:https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/national/article/2001483828/report-reveals-how-makenzis-deceptive-tactics-lured-followers&hl=en&gl=us