Pastor Paul Mackenzie, who allegedly ordered his followers of the Good News International Church to fast to death in order to meet Jesus, is currently in police custody along with 36 other suspects, per the outlet.  In March, Mackenzie denied ordering his followers to starve during an interview with Kenyan outlet Nation, multiple outlets reported. None of the suspects currently in custody have been charged, though relatives of those who have died have been speaking out.

AP Photo

ody bags are laid out at the scene where dozens of bodies have been found in shallow graves in the village of Shakahola, near the coastal city of Malindi, in southern Kenya on April 24, 2023. The number of people who died in connection with Kenya’s doomsday cult has crossed the 400 mark as detectives exhumed 12 more bodies on Monday, July 18, 2023, believed to be followers of a pastor who ordered them to fast to death in order to meet Jesus. Pastor Paul Mackenzie, who is linked to the cult based in a forested area in Malindi, coastal Kenya, is in police custody, along with 36 other suspects. All have yet to be charged.

“He [Mackenzie] told them to starve themselves ahead of the world’s end on April 15, saying he would be that last one and that he would lock the doors,” said Stephen Mwiti, whose wife and six children joined the cult and are possibly among those who died, toldReutersin May.

The cult is reportedly based in a forested part of Malindi, Kenya, per a report on the new death toll fromNBC News on Wednesday. Although Mackenzie claimed he had closed the church four years ago,according to the BBC.

Over 400 people have been found dead in Kenya in a case linked to a doomsday cult.YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty

An officer of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) walks at the mass-grave site in Shakahola

YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty

Mackenzie has been in police custody since April 14 and has refused food and water, per Reuters. In June, Kenyan media outletAnadolu Ajansı reported that another suspectand member of the cult, Joseph Juma Buyuka — who they described as Mackenzie’s number two — had died in police custody following a hunger strike.

The outlet noted that 30 other suspects had also been on hunger strike while in custody. The majority of those on hunger strike resumed eating after prosecutors took them to court for trying to end their lives, AP reported.

Former members of the church alleged that Mackenzie compelled congregants to fast as part of the church’s teachings,according to a BBC News report from May. Mackenzie’s sermons, which the BBC noted were still available online after the date the pastor said he had closed the church, dealt with apocalyptic themes. A banner on the church’s site read: “We are about to win the battle… let no-one turn back… the journey is about to be accomplished.”

The BBC added that there was no direct evidence, in the videos it had reviewed, of Mackenzie extolling his congregants to fast. However, they noted references in the footage to followers making sacrifices, which included the sacrifice of their lives.

Security personnel carry a rescued young person from the forest in Shakahola, outside the coastal town of Malindi, on April 23, 2023. The death toll in an investigation linked to a Kenyan cult that practised starvation to “meet Jesus Christ” has exceeded 400 after 12 new bodies were found on July 17, 2023, a senior official said.

Mackenzie was previously arrested over the disappearance of children, per AP. However, he was then released on bond.

In May, Kenyan President William Ruto told the country’s media that the government acknowledged its failure in preventing the deaths of the church members, according toVoice of America.

“I am taking responsibility that as president, this should not have happened. And certainly, some people who are responsible for this failure on the part of the government will have to give an account, because it should not have happened when we have all the agencies,” Ruto said at the time.

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He added: “The promise I am giving to the people of Kenya is that we will get to the bottom of this matter, and I am also giving them my commitment.”

PEOPLE reached out to the government of Kenya for additional comment.

source: people.com