Kenya: Four cult members starve to death after being told they will ‘meet’ Jesus

The Kenyan police have launched an investigation into the death of four people suspected to have starved to death, following the commands of a controversial cult leader. The police found 15 frail, haggard-looking parishioners on the property of the said cult leader who acted as a church pastor in the coastal area of Kilifi.

The police have identified the pastor as Makenzie Nthenge who told his followers to starve themselves as a way to meet Jesus and gain a place in heaven. When the authorities found them, most of the followers could barely stand up, walk or even talk.

"A contingent under the command of SCPC and SCCIO Malindi visited the scene for fact-finding. The team was able to reach few households and managed to rescue fifteen people among them six who were emaciated," read the police report.

"We found them in a very bad state, others fainted on the way to hospital," a security officer told Kenya's NationMedia Group.

The police said they began the operation after receiving a secret tip that 'ignorant' followers of Good News International Church were 'starving themselves to death' on the pretext that they will meet Jesus after being brainwashed by a suspect.

Of the 15 rescued, only 11 made it to the hospital alive. The local law enforcement agencies are now looking into reports of a mass grave in the nearby forest. There have suspicions that the controversial pastor buried his dead followers in the cemetery.

"The team was unable to identify the mass grave by virtue of vast land (area) and hostile residents in the forest. It is further suspected that there are many victims in the forest land believed to belong to the suspect," the report added.

Local reports stated thatNthenge was arrested last month after two children were starved to death by the parents, based on his advice.

Previous instances of cult killing

Kenya is a highly religious country and this is not the first instance when a cult leader has seemingly ledtheirfollowers down an astray path. One of the most infamous cases remains the death of British woman Lutfunisa Kwandwalla who died in 2020 at the house of a spiritual leader in Mombasa.

Kwandwalla resided in the city of Leicester but went to Kenya in August 2019 to visit members of her husband's family. However, she joined a controversial cult upon reaching there.

Kwandwalla was to return to England after a few months but a coronavirus lockdown and travel restrictions meant that her stay was prolonged and she was pushed deeper into the cult.

Her family alleged that the cult members killed her and buried the body quickly to hide evidence. Meanwhile, local officials blamed "natural causes" and no arrests were made.

(With inputs from agencies)

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