At least 47 died by collective suicide in a sect trying to “get to know Jesus” in Kenya

At least 47 people died in recent weeks in the East Kenya, in what appears to be a mass suicide ordered by the leader of a religious sectwho ordered his followers to fast group “to know Jesus”.

The authorities of that country have been digging for a week mass gravesfrom which they removed the remains of entire families, including small children. This Sunday alone they found 26 bodies.

This horror scenario is centered on the International Church of the Good News (Good News International Church), directed by messianic leader Makenzie Nthenge, which it is currently arrested For the police.

“Today [por este domingo] we have exhumed 26 bodies, bringing the total number to 47,” said Charles Kamau, head of criminal investigations for the Malindi (east) subcommittee, counting the dead over the past three days and specifying that searches continue.

Last week the authorities had already found the remains of four followers of the Church. Investigators intervened in the area following a information indicating a possible mass grave.

Kenyan police have indicated in a report that they have been tipped off by several people.”hungry under the pretext of meeting Jesus after Nthenge, them brain washing“.

Makenzie Nthenge, a messianic leader with a past

According to local media, nthenge had been arrested and reported last month, after two children died of starvation while being cared for by their parents. But deposit paid of 100,000 Kenyan shillings (about $740) and was released. In 2019 he was also arrested in a similar case and was also released on bail.

But the authorities arrested him again on April 15 after discovering the bodies of four people, suspected of having died of starvation. on this occasion They denied him the possibility of bail..

In Kenya, the bodies of at least 39 people who allegedly died of starvation have been exhumed since last Friday, the local Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) announced today.

The DCI had already communicated the discovery of 21 bodies last afternoon, but the excavations continued and throughout this Sunday the investigators discovered another 26 bodies.

The graves were located in the Shakahola forest of Malindi, which belongs to the coastal county of Kilifi. Among the dead, some children were identified, buried next to what appear to be their parents or relatives.

“When we are in this forest and come to an area where we see a large and tall crosswe know that means there are more than five people buried there,” Victor Kaudo, of the Malindi Center for Social Justice, told Citizen TV.

This was stated by Kenyan Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki 3 square kilometers of forest had been sealed off and declared a crime scene. Men dressed in white uniforms and wearing masks continue to dig the ocher earth in search of more bodies, an AFP reporter found on Sunday.

Nthenge would have called three cities Nazareth, Bethlehem and Judea and followers baptized in ponds before telling them to fastThe newspaper Standard reports it.

But in addition to the searches for the dead, the authorities They work against the clock to find survivors. Several followers of that church are still hiding in the woods. A woman was found by authorities on Sunday with bulging eyes and refused to feedbefore being transferred by ambulance.

The woman “absolutely refused first aid and closed his mouth tightlyrefusing to eat and wanted to continue his fast until he died,” Hussein Khalid, a member of Haki Africa, an organization that alerted police about the church’s actions, told AFP.

“We ask the national government to send troops ashore so we can go inside (the forest). help the victims who continue to fast until death,” he added. Another 11 faithful aged between 17 and 49, seven men and four women, were hospitalized last week after being rescued in the forest.

This was stated by a police source Nthenge went on hunger strike and that he “prays and fasts” during his arrest. According to local media, six His followers have also been arrested.

“It’s a huge blow and a big shock to our country,” Kilifi county child protection officer Sebastian Muteti told AFP. Kenya is a religious country and there have been cases of people attracted to churches or dangerous cults and unregulated.