Kenya (MNN) — In Kenya, a doomsday cult’s death toll has passed 400. Detectives recently discovered 12 more bodies of cult victims in the Malindi forest area who died of starvation.
The cult preacher Paul Mackenzie has been in custody with 36 other suspects after coercing hundreds of his followers to starve themselves and their children to death to meet Jesus. Most of were women and children. Another 95 people have been rescued from the cult.
Evidence from autopsies and eyewitnesses reveal starvation was violently enforced and some victims were asphyxiated.
Nehemiah with FMI says, “This pastor, he has a gang. They call it an enforcer gang…. Sixteen men [arrested with Mackenzie] are accused of operating an armed enforcer gang tasked with ensuring that no one broke their fast or left their forest hideout alive. That is one of the reasons that they are able to find more than 400 bodies.
Bible distribution in Kenya. (Photo courtesy of FMI)
“Mackenzie fell foul of the law in 2017 after he was accused of urging children not to attend school claiming that the Bible did not recognize education,” says Nehemiah. “This is so horrible. He was arrested again in March after two children starved to death in the custody of their parents but was subsequently freed on bond.”
Distorted spiritual teaching and false preachers like Mackenzie are a major problem in Kenya — confusing and misleading many to physical and spiritual death.
That’s why truly biblical, Gospel-centered ministries like FMI in Kenya are so critical. Eternity is at stake for 53 million souls!
FMI supports church planters in Kenya reaching their people with the true Word of God. Recently, they distributed over 2,000 Bibles!
Nehemiah asks, “Pray for the Kenya Church at large. May God raise many pastors, teachers, evangelists, [and] theologians who can teach their people what is a Bible-based church because false teaching is so common in Kenya.
“I would request our brothers and sisters, please pray for the Kenya Church, for revival so they understand the true light of the Gospel.”
Header photo courtesy of Jan Canty/Unsplash.
