KENYAN PASTOR JAILED FOR 200 YEARS FOR LEADING FOLLOWERS INTO DEADLY FASTING IN BID TO MEET JESUS
A Kenyan court has sentenced self-proclaimed preacher Paul Nthenge Mackenzie to a staggering 200 years in prison over the deaths of 191 people, including 190 children, in the horrific Shakahola massacre.
Mackenzie, founder of the Good News International Church, received a 100-year sentence for the deaths of the children and another 100 years in connection with the death of an adult.
He was found guilty of leading his followers into an extreme and deadly fasting practice, reportedly convincing them that starving themselves would bring them closer to meeting Jesus through death. The dangerous teachings allegedly led believers and their children to their deaths.
The shocking case came to light in 2023 when investigators uncovered hundreds of bodies buried in mass graves in Shakahola Forest, near the coastal town of Malindi, Kenya.
The gruesome discovery sent shockwaves across Kenya and attracted international attention, exposing one of the country’s most horrifying cases of religious extremism and abuse.
The 200-year prison sentence serves as a chilling reminder of the dangers of religious manipulation and the devastating consequences of blindly following extremist teachings.
Credit: DW Africa