Nairobi, Kenya
As a religious cult massacre in the village of Shakahola in south-eastern Kenya continues to send shivers down the spines of Kenyans, religious leaders are calling for tighter regulation of churches to avert activities by rogue pastors that may harm innocent people.
At the heart of what has been dubbed the “Shakahola Forest Massacre” is Pastor Paul Mackenzie, a controversial preacher at Good News International Church located in Shakahola forest near the coastal town of Malindi. Mackenzie is believed to have lured his followers to Shakahola forest and brainwashed them into fasting to death to meet Jesus.
Naomi Kahindi, who lost her sister and her children, all of them followers of a Christian cult named “Good News International Church”, who believed they would go to heaven, if they starved themselves to death in Shakahola, mourns at the Malindi sub district hospital mortuary in Malindi, Kilifi county, Kenya, on 26th April, 2023. PICTURE: Reuters/Monicah Mwangi
KENYAN PASTORS APPEAR IN COURT OVER DEATHS OF PARISHIONERS
Two pastors based in coastal Kenya have appeared in court over the deaths of more than 100 of their congregants, many of whom are believed to have starved to death.
Pastor Paul Mackenzie was released by one court in the town in Malindi before being rearrested and presented at an upper court in the town of Shanzu.
Mackenzie was first arrested two weeks ago over links to cultism for asking his followers to starve to death in order to meet Jesus.
More than 100 bodies have been exhumed from dozens of mass graves on his property within Kilifi County. Children are believed to be among the dead, but it is unclear how many, as some of the bodies are in poor condition.
The higher court has authorised Mackenzie’s detention until Friday, when an application to hold him for a further 30 days pending terrorism investigations will be heard.
His wife, Rhoda Maweu, was arrested on Monday night from a hideout in the coastal town of Mtwapa after weeks on the run.
Autopsies on 40 of the bodies found on Mackenzie’s property revealed that the causes of death ranged from starvation to strangulation and suffocation.
Pastor Ezekiel Odero, whose church is in the same county as Mackenzie’s, has also appeared in court. He will remain in custody for a further two days as investigations continue.
His followers trouped in large numbers outside the court Tuesday, praying for his release.
Odero was arrested last week in connection to the deaths of dozens of his congregants at his megachurch, which draws thousands of people from across the country.
He is also being investigated for his links to Mackenzie.
After Mackenzie closed his church in 2019, Odero bought a television channel from him.
Mackenzie had been charged in 2017 over the deaths of children at his church. In 2019, he closed the church and moved to a ranch in a forested area of Kilifi county, where hundreds of families built houses.
One of his followers told The Associated Press that it was at this time that a plan to starve till death in order to meet Jesus was hatched and his followers started dying.
Human rights groups had been sounding the alarm for months until April, when police began investigating and mass graves were discovered at the ranch.
Currently, police are conducting search and rescue missions on the 325 hectare property and at an even bigger ranch nearby. So far, 48 people have been rescued alive and 24 arrests made, according to Coast Regional Commissioner Rhoda Onyancha.
The operation to dig for more bodies has stalled even as the government announced a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the area and redeployed all senior police commanders to pave the way for a thorough probe.
– EVELYNE MUSAMBI, Nairobi, Kenya/AP
The police discovered shallow graves in the forest after arresting Mackenzie. The police said that Mackenzie buried his followers after they starved to death, and those who tried to escape from fasting were strangled to death by his accomplices. The police began exhuming bodies a week ago, so far exhuming more than 100 bodies.
The Catholic Church has urged the government to regulate the church and arrest fake pastors conning Kenyans in the name of religion. The church leaders called on the government to review proposals in the Religious Societies Rules 2015 to save millions of Kenya from being duped by rogue pastors who intend to improve their financial fortunes.
Religious leaders want to address issues such as making it mandatory for clerics to undergo theological training in recognised institutions to be allowed to operate a church, get clearance from government agencies to prove that they are not criminals, and submit their doctrines to the authorities for verification and determination.
“We call for a review of the proposed state laws to ensure that such rogue pastors are exposed in good time and denied the opportunity to perpetuate their dangerous acts,” the Catholic bishops said in their two-page statement on 24th April.
Nyeri Diocese Archbishop Anthony Muheria said rogue pastors were taking advantage of poor, unemployed, and desperate Kenyans looking for quick solutions to make money by asking them to donate in order to receive miracles. He warned Kenyans that those pastors purporting to perform miracles after asking money from the congregants were conmen out to get rich.
He urged the government to introduce laws to guide religions and dominations and also begin auditing the wealth of every religious leader, including himself, to establish the source of their wealth and weed out unscrupulous pastors.
“We cannot allow this to happen in our country and under our watch. Poor and miserable Kenyans have lost their lives because rogue people wanted to benefit themselves,” said Muheria. “I will lead in declaring my worth to the public to protect Kenyans from rogue religious leaders. God is not a magician that can promise wealth without hard work.”
Calisto Odede, Presiding Bishop of the Christ is The Answer Ministries, said the self-styled pastors were misinterpreting the Bible and duping their followers into giving money and other gifts to the church with the promise of solving their problems.
He urged the government and Kenyans to vet the messages some preachers deliver before they are believed. Those pastors out to fleece their followers by selling fake miracles should be investigated and arrested by the authorities.
“The church needs to be regulated by the government,” said Odede. “Leaders of all churches are coming up with a document that all churches will follow to self-regulate, and the government should deal with any church that does not follow or abide by those regulations.”
