Kenya’s Doomsday Cult Wreaks Havoc, Death Toll Passes 300

The Doomsday cult continues to create chaos as the death toll now passes 300 with the discovery of 19 more dead bodies. Police believe most of the dead bodies found in a forest near the Indian Ocean town of Malindi belong to followers of Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, a taxi driver-turned-preacher who has been in police custody since April 14 earlier this year.

Regional commissioner Rhoda Onyancha stated, “The death toll has now risen to 303 after the 19 bodies were exhumed.” The toll is provisional whilst the authorities fear real number of dead could be much higher. Nonetheless, the search fo mass graves is still underway in the Shakahola forest, where the victims; some dead, others alive but weakened and emaciated were fisrt discovered on April 13, 2023. The leader of this cult Pastor Mackenzie was arrested the following day.

On Monday about 65 rescued followers of Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, the founder of the Good News international church, were charged with attempted suicide after they refused to eat while in custody at a rescue centre. These emaciated survivors appeared in the court, after being rescued by the police At least 613 people are still missing in connection to the cult, while 95 people have been rescued, the officials confirmed. Investigators, on the other hand have expanded their search to cover a wider area in the region in order to find more victims.

Paul Mackenzie, founder of Good News International Church is accused of ordering his followers to starve themselves and their children to death so they could go to heaven before the end of the world. Paul Mackenzie, as they say predicted the world would end on April 15 and instructed his followers to kill themselves by starvation to be the first to go to heaven. Previously, Kenyan police began exhuming remains from more than a dozen suspected graves in the east of the country thought to contain followers of this cult. The rescued worshippers had told the police that they were told to starve themselves to death so they could meet their creator. Four of them died, before they reached hospital.