Four worshipers have died and 11 others have been hospitalized after observing a strict fast at the behest of a sect leader in western Kenya. He would have told them that in this way they would “meet Jesus”.
BiblePhoto: DreamsTime
The leader of a sect in western Kenya surrendered to the police on Friday, he was wanted after the death of four believers who were allegedly told to fast to “meet Jesus”, the local police announced.
Eleven other followers were hospitalized, three of them in critical condition, after being rescued from Shakahola forest near Malindi town. The police fear that other victims will be discovered.
According to AFP, police say they received reports on Thursday of “ignorant citizens starving to death under the pretext of meeting Jesus after being brainwashed by a suspect, Makenzie Nthenge, pastor of the Good News International Church.”
“When our agents went to the forest, they found 15 people but unfortunately four of them died (…). The others are in hospital,” said Charles Kamau, the officer in charge of criminal investigations in Malindi.
The four deceased believers have not yet been identified. The eleven taken to the hospital are seven men and four women aged between 17 and 49, according to the police report.
Investigators were continuing their search in Shakahola Forest, with reports indicating a possible mass grave where other followers may be buried. “The team could not identify the mass grave because of the extensive terrain and the hostile inhabitants of the forest. It is suspected that there are many victims in the forests belonging to the suspect”, the police report states.
According to local media, Makenzie Nthenge was arrested and charged last month after two children starved to death in front of their parents. He was then released on bail of 100,000 Kenyan shillings (about 670 euros). (news.ro) (photo source Dreamstime)