The horror never ends
The cult of hunger in Kenya continues to drive people to death

By Simon Schlendwin, Kampala
7/24/2023 4:26 PM

Although the cult leader has been taken into custody, forensic experts in Kenya find another dead body in the Chakhula forest. It seems his lieutenants are still up for mischief in the dense jungles along the Indian Ocean coast. The graves are fresh, as are the bodies in them.

Meanwhile, the Shakahola protected forest area near the port city of Mombasa represents one of the worst horror scenarios in Kenya’s recent history. Because just last week, forensic scientists found more bodies, some of which were only buried there recently. The number of bodies recovered by the Kenyan authorities from the forest area since April has reached 425. The final death toll is still unknown.

Over 400 followers of the Good News International sect, including many children, fasted to death on the orders of their sect’s leader, Paul Mackenzie Nthingi. Apparently, they had previously been led to believe that the end of the world was near and only those who had been starved to death would go to heaven. However, some of the victims were also strangled, beaten to death, or suffocated. There were many children among them.

In April, cult leader Mackenzie was arrested along with 37 other cult members. Prosecutors said he should be charged with murder and terrorism. It demanded that the cult leader be detained for three months while the investigation continues. Initially only a period of one month was granted, but it was eventually extended to three months. This period ends again at the end of July.

Death never ends

The court has now announced that an indictment has not yet been formally filed because forensic scientists are recovering more bodies every day. Another 16 dead were discovered just last week. Sources from the forensic team told Kenyan media that some of the bodies are believed to be very recent. The source, who did not reveal his name, told the newspaper, „You can tell that the bodies are recent because the level of decomposition was very low. The 16 bodies came from nine graves, each containing more than one body.” Kenyan media. Alleged evidence indicates that the bodies were only buried in the last few weeks.

In June, forensic experts again halted the recovery process in the dense jungle for several weeks. The reason: The morgue in the nearby town of Malindi was full, as were refrigerated containers brought in from far away. Forensic pathologists had to perform several distinct autopsies and clear spaces before more bodies were discovered.

Apparently, more people were buried there during this break. Police and intelligence services are now looking for Mackenzie associates to continue the cult. Security services suspect that some of the aides survived the raid in April, when police stormed the forest.

The mental mind is questionable

The behavior of the survivors, who will be witnesses in a future trial, shows how powerful the cult of hunger is, although those behind it are exposed. A total of 96 people, including several children, were found alive in April when police units stormed the forest. Most of them were very emaciated and were on the verge of starving to death as well.

More than 60 of the survivors have been admitted to a reception center by the authorities on medical grounds. However, most of them continued to fast there and were threatened with death. Adults also forced their children to fast. In June, the Public Prosecution Office finally summoned them to order their transfer to a prison. The prosecution explained to the judges that it was legally possible in prison to feed witnesses alive. Most of them voluntarily started eating after a week in prison and were then returned to the admission center. The judge in charge expressed concern that the survivors would be allowed to return home until their sanity was fully checked.

The Kenyan authorities are under intense pressure in this case. You want to avoid any other mistakes. The reason: Kenyans see the horror in the Chakhula forest as a symptom of government failure. The famous TV preacher Mackenzie, who was a taxi driver and father of seven, was already known to the police. He was arrested in 2017 on charges of “extremism” after he urged families not to send their children to schools. He was arrested again in March 2023 after two children died of starvation in the care of their parents. At that time, he was released on bail – and was able to seduce 400 more people to their deaths unnoticed.