.jpg)
| |||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
By:
SHARON MWENDE | |||||||||
| Posted:
Apr,24-2023 13:22:08
| |||||||||
Controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie had earlier denied that he played part in the 'Shakahola Massacre'.
He made this claim after his initial arrest over the deaths of two minors who succumbed to starvation.
Mackenzie denied playing part in their deaths after he was released on Sh10,000 cash bail by a Malindi court.
In an interview with NTV that aired in March, Mackenzie said he closed down his Good News International church at Shakahola in 2019 after a 16-year service.
He said he had stepped down from the ministry after a voice directed him to do so and sold everything in the church.
"Nilifunga Ministry kutoka 2019 Agosti. Sitafungua tena ministry kwa sababu ya ile sauti niliyoisikia ikiniambia kazi yangu imeisha. Jengo halifunction tena na wala halina chochote ndani," he said.
(I shut down the Ministry in August 2019. I will not reopen the ministry because of the voice I heard telling me that my work was done. The building does not function anymore and it has nothing inside).
Mackenzie further urged humanity to follow Christ and not him, saying he was also following Jesus.
"Na neno ni moja anasema mtu akiniamini hata hajapokufa ataishi (The scripture says if one believes in me (Jesus), even if he dies, he will live)," he said.
The preacher was re-arrested and is currently in police custody in connection with the deaths of dozens of people believed to be his followers
The church in question rests on a 800-acre piece land owned by Mackenzie.
By Monday, 67 bodies had been exhumed with the number expected to rise exponentially as detectives continue with the exhumation.
Some of the bodies were found in the same grave with one grave found to have six bodies.
"Two teams are on the ground, one exhuming the bodies as another team combs the forest to try and rescue more people," IG of Police Japhet Koome said on Monday.
Detectives exhume bodies of Shakahola cult victimsThe Directorate of Criminal Investigations and National Police Service on Monday exhumed at least 20 bodies from multiple graves at Shakahola in Kilifi County..jpg)
DCI Homicide and Forensic units exhume bodies of the Shakahola cult victims on Monday, April 24,2023.Image: CYRUS OMBATI The deaths of the victims are linked to the radical teachings of controversial pastor Paul Mackenzie of the Good News Internal Church. He reportedly told them to starve themselves to death for a chance to ascend to heaven. The exhumation is part of ongoing investigations into his involvement in the deaths. The total number of bodies exhumed so far is 67. Out of the 20 bodies exhumed on Monday, six were found in one grave. DCI boss Mohamed Amin and IG Japhet Koome visited the 800-acre land on Monday to oversee the process. "Two teams are on the ground, one exhuming the bodies as another team combs the forest to try and rescue more people," Koome said. Earlier, Interior CS Kithure Kindiki declared the Shakahola forest a crime scene. | |||||||||
|
Source:
The Star
| |||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
RSS