Kenya starvation cult: 'My wife and six children followed Pastor Mackenzie'

Kenyan preacher Paul Nthenge Mackenzie has appeared successful tribunal pursuing the find of scores of bodies successful a distant forest. He is accused of encouraging followers to starve themselves to decease - hundreds of relatives are present wondering what happened to their loved ones.

When the person of the Good News International Church, Pastor Mackenzie, said the satellite would extremity successful June 2023, Stephen Mwiti's woman believed him.

Now, helium is definite that she starved to decease on with their six children.

The 45-year-old, who makes his surviving selling mandazi, oregon fried bread, holds up a crumpled photograph of his woman and 4 of his children asking if anyone has seen them.

He has been doing this implicit and implicit again successful the municipality of Malindi, south-east Kenya, since she disappeared from determination past August.

Mr Mwiti has besides been to look for them successful the Shakahola forest, wherever members of Pastor Mackenzie's religion had isolated themselves.

His wife, Bahati Joan, was large erstwhile she near past twelvemonth with their children: Hellen Karimi, 9 years old, Samuel Kirimil, seven, Jacob Kimathi, three, Lillian Gatumbi, 18 months, and Angelina Gatumbi, 7 months.

Mr Mwiti aboriginal recovered retired that his woman had fixed commencement to a son, who besides died.

She had been an ardent follower of Pastor Mackenzie since 2015 and had archetypal gone to Shakahola successful 2021, and past kept coming and going.

After alerting the constabulary galore times and failed idiosyncratic attempts to rescue them, helium learned precocious from different children who had escaped and were being held by Kenyan police, that his ain children had died.

"They could place them from the pictures. They knew their names and wherever Jacob and Lillian had been buried," helium recounts, warring backmost tears.

"I was told not to effort to look for my children again. They were each dead. I was excessively late."

He believes they were buried successful the wood but their bodies person not yet been identified.

Shakahola is simply a Swahili connection that loosely translates arsenic "a spot wherever worries are lifted".

It is nestled successful the expansive 50,000-acre (20,000-hectare) Chakama Ranch successful the coastal region of Kilifi.

Pastor Mackenzie is reported to person owned 800 acres of the wood area.

The entranceway to the forest, down a unsmooth way disconnected the main road, is simply a two-hour thrust from Malindi, the nearest main town.

Thorn bushes and thickets dot the scenery and marque the travel into Shakahola difficult. The vigor swelters astir each twelvemonth circular and elephants occasionally roam the area.

The deeper inside, the much chopped disconnected it becomes. There is nary mobile network, nary net connection.

But it was present that a caller Holy Land was established.

The country had been partitioned into villages, each fixed biblical spot names.

Some of Pastor Mackenzie's followers lived a beingness of deprivation successful Judea. Others holed themselves up successful Bethlehem. There was besides Nazareth.

"I learned that my woman and children lived and died successful Jerusalem," Mr Mwiti says. But helium has not been determination since officials began to exhume bodies from marked gravesites.

In the forest, detectives had initially mapped retired 65 sites wherever radical were buried. Each had respective shallow graves with bodies huddled adjacent to each other.

Those who exhumed the corpses accidental the show of radical buried without dignity haunts them. So acold 110 radical person been confirmed dead, but determination are fears the decease toll could emergence arsenic much of the wood is searched.

Post-mortems inactive person to beryllium carried retired but constabulary and authorities prosecutors accidental arsenic good arsenic dying from starvation, immoderate members whitethorn person been strangled, suffocated oregon beaten to decease with blunt objects.

Former members of the Good News International Church person said they were forced to starve arsenic portion of their adherence to its teachings.

Titus Katana, who managed to escape, says those who tried to permission the cult were branded arsenic traitors and faced convulsive attacks.

He besides suggested determination was an bid successful which radical were expected to dice up of the extremity of the world.

"The children were the archetypal to die. Then aft the children, they went for the unmarried. Then after, the mothers and the aged were adjacent successful line."

The religion leaders were expected to beryllium the past to die.

Explaining what drew him to the church, Mr Katana said helium thought that Pastor Mackenzie was "charismatic and preached God's connection well".

An further attraction was that "Mackenzie was besides selling onshore to his followers. That appealed to me. I bought 15 acres. But erstwhile I saw his preaching was odd, I chose to leave."

Mr Mwiti says helium had heard accounts of however his babe lad was breast-fed lone once. Then helium was suffocated to death.

"I heard that erstwhile my lad was killed, alternatively of the cult members grieving, they clapped and rejoiced that helium had ascended and met Jesus," helium says.

A BBC investigation of Pastor Mackenzie's sermons connected video bash not amusement him straight ordering radical to fast, but determination are galore references to followers sacrificing what they clasp dear, including their lives.

At the extremity of past week, the Kenya Red Cross reported that 410 people, including 227 children, who were thought to person immoderate transportation to Pastor Mackenzie's church, were missing.

Their relatives are present milling astir Malindi's infirmary and constabulary station, waiting for quality of their loved ones.

Among them is Patrick Ngumbau.

His parent went missing 2 years agone and helium went looking for her successful Shakahola, but contempt uncovering her helium could not transportation her to leave.

"I asked her if she would judge to travel home. She told maine she was determination for 1 mission, to find Jesus," Mr Ngumbau says arsenic helium lines up among hundreds waiting for accusation astir their kin.

"I near Shakahola successful 2021 precise bittersweet due to the fact that I felt we had already mislaid our mum."

He had travel from Makueni region - 270km (170 miles) distant - to find retired more. Relatives of the missing person gathered successful Malindi from crossed the state and adjacent further afield - neighbouring Tanzania and Uganda, arsenic good arsenic Nigeria connected the different broadside of the continent.

Christine Nyanchama came to Malindi from Nyamira, astir 800km away, to look for her sister, her brother-in-law and six different relatives. Her sister's children - a nephew and niece person already been recovered dead, but Ms Nyanchama thinks others could inactive beryllium alive.

"Wherever my sister is, she needs to beryllium helped arsenic accelerated arsenic possible, earlier she dies. I recognize that she has already fasted for 22 days," she says referring to the past substance connection she has received.

Pastor Mackenzie's teachings online and connected TV appeared to interaction a chord with some. Among different things, helium preached against ceremonial acquisition and modern medicine.

He had said that helium had closed down the Good News International Church 4 years agone aft astir 2 decades of operation, but his sermons, immoderate inactive disposable online, look to person been recorded aft that date.

Some of his ardent followers tore up their acquisition certificates, discontinue their jobs and refused to vaccinate their children.

Dr Susan Gitau, a counselling scientist believes that astir radical who followed Pastor Mackenzie - including assemblage graduates and an elite constabulary serviceman - were seeking solace, hope, spot and support.

Pastor Mackenzie was arrested successful March erstwhile 2 children were recovered dormant successful Shakahola. He and their parents were accused of starving and suffocating them earlier burying them successful the forest.

However, helium was released for deficiency of evidence.

He is present backmost successful custody but has not commented connected the charges of murder, radicalisation and threatening nationalist information that helium faces.

President William Ruto has promised to acceptable up a committee of enquiry into what happened but the authorities themselves look pugnacious questions. Not slightest astir what took them truthful agelong to fig retired thing was going on.

"There is nary excuse for the authorities not to person noticed this," says Hussein Khalid, the enforcement manager of Haki Africa, the radical which raised the alarm astir the deaths.

"We are determined and we privation to marque definite each and each unfortunate gets justice."

Mr Mwiti blames the government, the constabulary and the section authorities successful Malindi for failing to act.

"I americium already 45 years old. The infinitesimal I heard that they had died, I felt that I had died too."

He has present fixed the authorities a illustration of his DNA successful the anticipation that his children tin beryllium identified. Only past volition helium beryllium capable to mourn.