Kenyan church cult massacre that killed hundreds haunts survivors

MALINDI, Kenya — 

Shukran Karisa Mangi ever showed up drunk astatine work, wherever helium dug up the bodies of doomsday cult members buried successful shallow graves. But the intoxicant couldn't numb his daze the greeting helium recovered the assemblage of a adjacent friend, whose cervix had been twisted truthful severely that his caput and torso faced other directions.

This convulsive decease upset Mangi, who had already unearthed children's bodies. The fig of bodies kept rising successful this assemblage disconnected Kenya's coastline wherever extremist evangelical person Paul Mackenzie is accused of instructing his followers to starve to decease for the accidental to conscionable Jesus.

While helium sometimes sees the remains of others erstwhile helium tries to sleep, Mangi said recently, the recurring representation of his friend's mutilated assemblage torments him erstwhile he's awake.

"He died successful a precise cruel manner," said Mangi, 1 of respective gravediggers whose enactment was suspended earlier successful the twelvemonth arsenic bodies piled up successful the morgue. "Most of the time, I inactive deliberation astir however helium died."

In 1 of the deadliest cult-related massacres ever, astatine slightest 436 bodies person been recovered since constabulary raided Good News International Church successful a wood immoderate 70 kilometers inland from the coastal municipality of Malindi. Seventeen months later, galore successful the country are inactive shaken by what happened contempt repeated warnings astir the church's leader.

Mackenzie pleaded not blameworthy to charges successful the murders of 191 children, aggregate counts of manslaughter and different crimes. If convicted, helium would walk the remainder of his beingness successful prison.

Some successful Malindi who spoke to The Associated Press said Mackenzie's assurance portion successful custody showed the wide-ranging powerfulness immoderate evangelists task adjacent arsenic their teachings undermine authorities authority, interruption the law, oregon harm followers hopeless for healing and different miracles.

It's not lone Mackenzie, said Thomas Kakala, a self-described bishop with the Malindi-based Jesus Cares Ministry International, referring to questionable pastors helium knew successful the capital, Nairobi.

"You look astatine them. If you are sober and you privation to perceive the connection of God, you wouldn't spell to their church," helium said. "But the spot is packed."

A antheral similar Mackenzie, who refused to articulation the fellowship of pastors successful Malindi and seldom quoted Scripture, could thrive successful a state similar Kenya, said Kakala. Six detectives person been suspended for ignoring aggregate warnings astir Mackenzie's amerciable activities.

Kenya, similar overmuch of East Africa, is dominated by Christians. While galore are Anglican oregon Catholic, evangelical Christianity has dispersed wide since the 1980s. Many pastors benignant their ministries successful the mode of palmy American televangelists, investing successful broadcasting and advertising.

Many of Africa's evangelical churches are tally similar sole proprietorships, without the guidance of trustee boards oregon laity. Pastors are often unaccountable, deriving authorization from their perceived quality to execute miracles oregon marque prophecies. Some, similar Mackenzie, tin look all-powerful.

Mackenzie, a erstwhile thoroughfare vendor and cab operator with a precocious schoolhouse education, apprenticed with a Malindi preacher successful the precocious 1990s. There, successful the laid-back tourer town, helium opened his ain religion successful 2003.

A charismatic preacher, helium was said to execute miracles and exorcisms, and helium could beryllium generous with his money. His followers included teachers and constabulary officers. They came to Malindi from crossed Kenya, giving Mackenzie nationalist prominence that dispersed the symptom of the deaths crossed the country.

The archetypal complaints against Mackenzie acrophobic his absorption to ceremonial schooling and vaccination. He was concisely detained successful 2019 for opposing the government's efforts to delegate nationalist recognition numbers to Kenyans, saying the numbers were satanic.

He closed his Malindi religion premises aboriginal that twelvemonth and urged his congregation to travel him to Shakahola, wherever helium leased 800 acres of wood inhabited by elephants and large cats.

Church members paid tiny sums to ain plots successful Shakahola, and were required to physique houses and unrecorded successful villages with biblical names similar Nazareth, according to survivors. Mackenzie grew much demanding, with radical from antithetic villages forbidden from communicating oregon gathering, said erstwhile religion subordinate Salama Masha.

"What made maine (realize) Mackenzie was not a bully idiosyncratic was erstwhile helium said that the children should accelerated to die," said Masha, who escaped aft witnessing the starvation deaths of 2 children. "That's erstwhile I knew that it's not thing I tin do."

Mbatha Mackenzie, a mason who lives with his household and goats successful a tin shack successful Malindi, said that portion Mackenzie was generous to his followers, helium ne'er treated his extended household with akin kindness.

"My member — helium seemed similar a politician," helium said. "They person a saccharine tongue, and erstwhile helium talks thing to the people, radical judge him."

A erstwhile religion subordinate who escaped Shakahola said she mislaid religion successful Mackenzie erstwhile she saw however his men handled radical connected the verge of dying from starvation. She said Mackenzie's bodyguards would instrumentality the starving idiosyncratic away, ne'er to beryllium seen again.

The pistillate said it was "like a routine" for the bodyguards to rape women successful the villages. She says she, too, was sexually assaulted by 4 men portion she was large with her 4th child. The Associated Press does not place victims of alleged intersexual battle unless they take to publically place themselves.

Those who tried to the permission the wood without Mackenzie's support faced beatings, arsenic did those who were caught breaking fast, according to erstwhile religion members.

Autopsies connected much than 100 bodies showed deaths from starvation, strangulation, suffocation, and injuries from blunt objects. Mangi, the gravedigger, said helium believed much wide graves were yet to beryllium discovered successful Shakahola. At slightest 600 radical are reported missing, according to the Kenya Red Cross.