The controversial Good News International Church pastor Paul Mackenzie was arrested after four followers died starving to “meet Jesus.”
Pastor Mackenzie, who faced similar charges last month after two children died under similar circumstances, surrendered to police late Friday 14.
Four people died while being rescued from a forest in Kilifi where they had been hungry for three months to die expecting to see Jesus, prompting police to initiate a manhunt for him.
Eleven more people were saved and sent to the hospital, but it's been reported that some have turned down food and treatment, saying they are determined to suffer the consequences of pastor Mackenzie's harsh teachings.
DCI chief for Malindi sub-county Charles Kamau confirmed the pastor's arrest, saying he surrendered because he knew they were looking for him.
Kamau said they are still combing Shakahola forest for more followers of pastor Mackenzie and are also looking for mass graves said to be there.
“We have those reports of a mass grave and that there are more people who have retreated to the forest to pray, we want to rescue them,” he said and appealed to support from the public.
Medical personnel tending to a member of Pastor Paul Mackenzie's congregation from Good News International Church who was one of 15 individuals saved on April 13, 2023, from a forest in Malindi where they were starving to death in the hope of encountering Jesus. The preacher was later jailed after four of them passed away. /CFM.
