According to authorities, the Kenyan doomsday cult death toll has surpassed 300 after a pastor preached to his followers to starve to death for their salvation.
The number of dead people is expected to climb as the authorities plan more exhumations.
Kenyan Cult Death Toll Surpasses
Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie (L), who set up the Good News International Church in 2003 and is accused of inciting cult followers to starve to death "to meet Jesus", talks to his relatives as he appeared in the dock, at the Shanzu law courts in Mombasa on May 5, 2023.
As per Associated Press, the coastal regional commissioner Rhoda Onyancha disclosed to local journalists that roughly more than 613 people who are tied to the doomsday cult are missing.
But for now, the authorities only retrieved bodies half of that number. The police found the bodies of Mackenzie in a forest nearby the Indian Ocean town of Malindi.
The regional commissioner confirmed that "the death toll has now risen to 303 after the 19 bodies were exhumed." The authorities expect to retrieve more bodies from the land where Mackenzie and his followers lived, with more exhumations underway.
The local police stormed the cult leader Pastor Paul Mackenzie's property last April shortly after investigators got a tip telling them that dozens of cult followers were starving themselves to death. The tip also mentioned that MacKenzie told his cult members that starvation was their way to salvation.
On Monday, June 12, the authorities rescued 65 parishioners from the property where the doomsday cult followers lived. The police charged these people with attempted suicide after protesting in a hunger strike in their shelters and moved them to jail.
Pastor Paul Mackenzie and His Starvation Cult
Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, (C) who set up the Good News International Church in 2003 and is accused of inciting cult followers to starve to death "to meet Jesus", appears at the Shanzu law courts in Mombasa on May 5, 2023.
Paul Nthenge MacKenzie is the leader of a Christian doomsday cult in Kenya, wherein hundreds of followers starved themselves to death.
According to BBC, MacKenzie says he has already ceased the operations of his Good News International Church roughly four years ago. His church ran for almost two decades before closing its doors, according to its leader.
Despite that, the BBC discovered videos on YouTube featuring his sermons even after the church had allegedly shut down. The media outlet noticed that some of his videos were monetized. So the Google-owned video service is earning money off these clips through advertisements.
The YouTube account of Makenzie draws thousands of followers. The church also has its Facebook page, which shares links to these videos.
However, BBC says that these videos on YouTube never showed the cult leader directly ordering these people to starve themselves to death. But it asks his followers to offer sacrifices, which include giving away their lives.
Mackenzie has denied accusations saying he forced his followers to fast. Yet, former members of the cult say that their leader ordered them to fast. The Kenyan cult leader has been under the custody of the police since April 14, CBS News reports. He is expected to go back to court this week.
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