Kenya starvation cult: What's known about its leader from his own sermons?

The person of a Christian cult successful Kenya is owed to look successful tribunal adjacent week, arsenic the exhumation of bodies recovered successful wide graves connected his onshore continues. At slightest 90 person been discovered truthful far.

Pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie has said helium closed down his Good News International Church 4 years agone aft astir 2 decades of operation.

But the BBC has uncovered hundreds of his sermons inactive disposable online, immoderate of which look to person been recorded aft this date.

What representation bash they overgarment of a antheral whose followers person starved themselves to death?

In a passionate, raspy voice, Pastor Mackenzie delivers his sermons to ample congregations successful thrall to his apocalyptic themes.

"We are astir to triumph the battle… fto no-one crook back… the travel is astir to beryllium accomplished," reads a banner crossed the screen.

One bid of videos connected his church's YouTube transmission has the caption: "End Time Kids" and shows groups of young children delivering messages to the camera.

Others culminate successful exorcisms successful which followers - often women - writhe astir connected the crushed portion helium "torments" the demonic forces wrong them.

These YouTube channels person thousands of subscribers and a Facebook leafage acceptable up by his religion links to galore of the videos.

It's not wide erstwhile the sermons were filmed, but determination is notation to an upcoming lawsuit successful Nairobi successful January 2020, which contradicts Pastor Mackenzie's assertion to person ended his preaching activities the erstwhile year.

Former members of the religion person claimed that they were forced to accelerated arsenic portion of their adherence to its teachings.

There is nary nonstop grounds successful the dozens videos we've seen of Pastor Makenzie straight ordering radical to fast, but determination are galore references to followers sacrificing what they clasp dear, including their lives.

"There are radical who don't adjacent privation to preach [about] Jesus. They accidental their children are crying due to the fact that they are hungry, fto them die. Is determination a occupation there?"

In an interrogation with the Kenyan Nation paper a fewer weeks ago, Pastor Makenzie denied helium forced his followers to fast.

"Is determination a location possibly oregon an enclosure oregon a obstruction determination that has been recovered [at the farm] wherever radical mightiness person been locked in?" helium replied erstwhile the newsman asked him astir this.

Another taxable of Pastor Mackenzie's sermons has been the thought that ceremonial acquisition is satanic and utilized to extort money.

"They cognize acquisition is evil. But they usage it for their ain gains" helium says successful 1 sermon. "Those who merchantability uniforms, constitute books…those who marque pens… each kinds of rubbish. They usage your wealth to enrich themselves portion you go poor."

In 2017 and again successful 2018, helium was arrested for encouraging children not to spell to schoolhouse arsenic helium claimed acquisition was "not recognised successful the Bible".

Pastor Mackenzie has besides condemned acquisition for promoting homosexuality done enactment acquisition programmes.

"I told radical acquisition is evil…. Children are taught gayism and lesbianism,'' helium told the Nation newspaper.

He has besides encouraged mothers to debar seeking aesculapian attraction during childbirth and not to vaccinate their children.

In 1 of the videos, a pistillate narrates however she helped to present a babe done supplication and without the request for a caesarean section, adding that she aboriginal received a "prompting" from the beatified tone to pass her neighbour against vaccinating her child.

The pastor past echoes her sentiments that vaccines are not necessary, claiming that doctors "serve a antithetic God".

He besides discourages women from plaiting their hair, wearing wigs and wearing ornaments.

Much of Pastor Mackenzie's preaching relates to the fulfilment of Biblical prophecies astir Judgement Day.

The church's online contented besides features posts astir the extremity of the world, impending doom and the expected dangers of science.

And determination are predominant warnings of an omnipotent satanic unit that has supposedly infiltrated the highest echelons of powerfulness astir the world.

He repeatedly references "New World Order" - a conspiracy mentation astir a crippled by planetary elites to bring astir an authoritarian satellite government, replacing federation states - falsely claiming the Catholic Church, the UN and the US are down it.

He is besides highly sceptical of modern technology, antecedently claiming a program by the Kenyan authorities to found a unsocial individuality fig for citizens to entree authorities services was the 'mark of the beast'.

Additional reporting by Paul Brown, Shayan Sardarizadeh and Jemimah Herd