Kenyan families weep for starvation cult victims as first bodies released
Malindi, Kenya Reuters Bereaved relatives emerged weeping from a hospital mortuary in Kenya on Tuesday after recovering the remains of loved ones whose doomsday cult leader induced them to starve themselves, according to the authorities. The bodies of more than 400 followers of the Good News International Church have been exhumed from the Shakahola forest […]
Kenyan court rules pastor accused of starving his congregation is mentally fit for trial
Nairobi, Kenya Religion News Service Paul Mackenzie Nthenge, the self–proclaimed Kenyan pastor who is accused of orchestrating the deaths of more than 400 members of his congregation by starvation, was ruled mentally fit to stand trial by the High Court at Malindi on Tuesday. The taxi driver-turned-charismatic preacher faces multiple charges, including murder and terrorism, […]
Kenya cult leader charged with terrorism-related crimes in starvation deaths
Mombasa, Kenya Reuters Kenyan cult leader Paul Mackenzie and 94 others were charged on Thursday with terrorism-related crimes related to the deaths of 429 of his followers whose bodies have been exhumed from the Shakahola forest. The charges, announced during an appearance before a court in the south-eastern city of Mombasa, are the first to […]
Kenyan cult leader sentenced to 18 months for film violations but still not charged over mass graves
Nairobi, Kenya AP The leader of a doomsday cult in Kenya was sentenced Friday to 18 months in prison for the illegal distribution of films and operating a film studio without licenses. The senior magistrate in the city of Malindi, Olga Onalo, handed down the sentence for Paul Mackenzie. The controversial preacher can appeal within […]
Kenya doomsday cult deaths top 400 as detectives exhume 12 more bodies, with the pastor in custody
Nairobi, KenyaAP The number of people who died in connection with Kenya’s doomsday cult has crossed the 400 mark as detectives exhumed 12 more bodies on Monday believed to be followers of a pastor who ordered them to fast to death in order to meet Jesus. Pastor Paul Mackenzie, who is linked to the cult […]
Initial autopsies show children starved, asphyxiated in Kenyan cult
Nairobi, KenyaReuters The bodies of several children exhumed in eastern Kenya showed signs of starvation and in some cases asphyxiation, a government pathologist said on Monday, as investigators began the first autopsies on over 100 people linked to a doomsday cult. On Monday investigators said they had completed 10 autopsies, comprising nine children aged between […]
Children account for majority of Kenyan cult deaths – interior minister
Nairobi, KenyaReuters Children account for most of the 109 bodies so far recovered in mass graves linked to a cult in Kenya, the interior minister said on Friday, the latest details in a case that has shocked the country and prompted calls for tighter regulation of religious fringe groups. Followers of the Good News International […]
Number of bodies exhumed from suspected Kenyan cult graves jumps to 47
Nairobi, Kenya Reuters Kenyan police have now exhumed the bodies of 47 people thought to be followers of a Christian cult who believed they would go to heaven if they starved themselves to death. Police near the coastal town of Malindi started exhuming bodies on Friday from the Shakahola forest. Kenya police officers stand guard […]