“Hurry up, do it for Jesus”: two hundred torture chambers discovered

More than 200 torture chambers used by the “International Church of Good News”, later renamed a “fasting sect”, were discovered by law enforcement in Kenya during investigations into the sect created by controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie. According to investigators, the victims were forced to fast and suffer physical and moral violence “so they could see Jesus in heaven.” A fear that is slowly emerging: At least 450 bodies have been exhumed from mass graves identified in the Shakahola forest in Malindi’s hinterland, and another 260 have yet to be found. The preacher was arrested along with 36 people.

According to The Standard newspaper, 214 torture chambers were discovered during the investigation. According to investigators, followers were not only forced to fast, but also tortured and, in some cases, killed outright. “It is clear that they were forced to fast, pieces of cloth and terrible instruments were seized from the torture chambers,” one of the investigators told the media. Autopsies performed on the victims revealed signs of violence and strangulation. According to some accounts, Mackenzie would tie up her followers, especially women pursued by men armed with machetes, so that they could not escape or get food. The sect met in the interior of the tourist town of Malindi in the Shakahola forest. More than 300 hectares of forest area was declared a crime scene by the Minister of Internal Affairs Kithure Kindiki.

Last June 2, preacher Paul Mackenzie declared his innocence during a hearing in the Mombasa court: “I don’t know what I’m doing behind bars, I feel it’s an injustice, but I’m sure God, Whom I serve and trust, will help me.” The man has been in jail since April 15, but local authorities plan to ask for an extension of his detention to complete investigations. In fact, there are still many points to be clarified in a case that will be remembered as one of the most terrible massacres in modern history.

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Source: Today IT

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