Kenya horror: Pastor Mackenzie linked to over 100 deaths in chilling forest 'massacre'
Mass Graves Expose Dark Cult Secrets
Mackenzie, founder of Good News International Church in 2003, is accused of masterminding the deaths of more than 100 people found buried in mass graves near Malindi last month. The grim discovery, dubbed the “Shakahola forest massacre,” has rocked Kenya, a devout Christian nation.
Investigators say Mackenzie and his followers fled to a forest hideout to carry out extreme religious rituals. Authorities allege Mackenzie urged his followers to starve themselves “to meet Jesus.” An armed “enforcer gang” of 17 members kept a brutal watch, ensuring no one broke the fast or escaped alive.
Starvation and Violence Behind the Deaths
Autopsies revealed starvation as the main cause of death. However, some victims were strangled, beaten, or suffocated. Prosecutors want to hold Mackenzie for another 90 days as they build cases of terrorism, murder, kidnapping, and child cruelty against him.
High-Profile Televangelist Also in Police Dragnet
The arrest of Mackenzie has triggered the detention of Ezekiel Odero, a prominent televangelist. Odero faces grave allegations including murder, aiding suicide, abduction, radicalisation, crimes against humanity, child cruelty, fraud, and money laundering.
Prosecutors claim evidence links bodies exhumed at Shakahola to victims from Odero’s New Life Prayer Centre and Church, raising alarms over a wider network of religious cult abuse.
Kenyan President Pledges Crackdown
The massacre has exposed glaring failures to police dangerous cults and unscrupulous churches in Kenya. President William Ruto has vowed to take action against radical religious movements to stop more tragedies.
The nation is in shock and demands stronger regulation of religious institutions to prevent history from repeating.
