Kenya Closes 5 Churches After Hundreds of Congregants 'Fast' To Death

(Africa News) Kenyan authorities have banned five churches, including that of a pastor accused of inciting more than 400 followers to fast to death, according to a government document made public on Friday.

The Associations Registration Office said the license of self-proclaimed pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie’s Good News International Church had been cancelled on May 19.

The self-proclaimed pastor had urged followers of his movement to fast until death in order to “meet Jesus”, a case which shocked Kenyans after the discovery of corpses in the Shakahola forest near the coastal town of Malindi.

To date, 425 bodies have been found in this forest.

Although most of the victims died of starvation, autopsies have also revealed that some, including children, were strangled, beaten or suffocated. The authorities have also banned four other churches, including the New Life Prayer Centre and Church run by Mackenzie-linked televangelist Ezekiel Odero.

Odero is under investigation on charges of murder, aiding suicide, radicalization and money… to continue reading click here.

Editor’s Note. This article was published at Africa News.