 | The article's lead section may need to be rewritten. (June 2023) |
  Shakahola Forest incident (Kenya) Location of Shakahola | |
| Date | March 2023[1] |
|---|---|
| Location | Shakahola village, near Malindi, Kenya |
| Coordinates | 3°06′43″S 39°33′07″E / 3.112°S 39.552°E |
| Cause | Mass starvation, suffocation, strangulation, blunt force trauma |
| Motive | Mackenzie's followers were forced to go without food to "meet Jesus"[2] |
| Perpetrator | Paul Nthenge Mackenzie |
| Organized by | Good News International Ministries |
| Deaths | 448 (as of June 12, 2024) |
| Non-fatal injuries | 72 |
| Missing | 613 |
| Burial | Shakahola Forest |
| Suspects | 36 |
The Shakahola Forest incident involves a religious cult led by Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, founder of Good News International Ministries. The incident came to public attention in March of 2023 when a concerned man reported to the police that his wife and daughter, who had traveled from Nairobi, Kenya, to join Paul Nthenge Mackenzie's remote Good News International Ministries in Kilifi County had not returned.[3]
Upon investigating the community, police discovered emaciated people and shallow graves. They rescued fifteen members of the group who revealed that they had been instructed to starve themselves to death to "meet Jesus." Despite the rescue efforts, four of the fifteen followers died before reaching the hospital due to their critical condition[3]
- ^ "Woman starved, suffocated to death own children to 'please God'". Monitor. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Standardwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b "Number of bodies exhumed from suspected Kenyan cult graves jumps to 47". Hindustan Times. 24 April 2023. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.