The deaths of at least 90 dead, followers of a cult advocating extreme fasting to meet God, has exposed the dangers of “churches” led by self-described “pastors” in Kenya, which authorities in the West African country the East are struggling to frame.
Faced with the scale of the macabre discoveries, the public authorities quickly raised the tone. “What happened in Shakahola is a turning point in the way Kenya deals with security threats posed by religious extremists,” Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki said on Tuesday (April 25th): he use of the Bible to kill people, to commit mass murder of innocent civilians cannot be tolerated. »
The minister’s remarks followed those of President William Ruto who promised to suppress “unacceptable” religious movements, comparing their leaders to “terrorists”. Religious authorities have also begun to speak out. “These are people who have misinterpreted the Scriptures instead of using them wisely,” insisted Calisto Odede, bishop of the Pentecostal-influenced (Protestant) Christ Is The Answer Ministries Church. We must be able to evaluate the messages of certain preachers. »
Guardrails
Efforts to put in place safeguards, however, could face strong resistance. Archbishop Odede said on Monday that independent churches had previously rejected proposals for oversight from the Kenya National Council of Churches.
In 2019, self-proclaimed “pastor” Paul Mackenzie Nthenge, accused of being at the heart of the “Shakahola Forest Massacre”, decided to close his Good News International Church near the coastal town of Malindi, saying: “Jesus m said the job he gave me is done. »
But the charismatic leader allegedly then took his followers to a nearby forest and convinced them to fast to meet God. And Kenya was amazed to discover last week the first mass graves of worshipers, many of them housing the remains of starved children.
But, according to Stephen Akaranga, a professor of religion at the University of Nairobi, this “massacre” is unlikely to result in a tougher stance on the part of the authorities towards the cults. Attempts to control religious matters have often met with opposition in this predominantly Christian country, particularly in the name of religious freedom.
There are more than 4,000 churches in Kenya, a country of around 50 million people, according to official figures. Some preachers encourage the faithful to pay financial donations. Others exert a much more dramatic control over the lives of believers, not hesitating to divert certain passages of the Bible to manipulate them.
“Most of these self-proclaimed pastors have never set foot in a theological university,” Akaranga told AFP. But their theological shortcomings go unnoticed by their congregation, he says, adding that most of these independent churches have spread to rural areas of Kenya, “where people have little information about education.” .
online sermons
Poverty, lack of education and easy access to online sermons have contributed to the rise of this type of worship. In 2018, a family lost seven children in four years because the organization Kanitha wa Ngai (“Church of God”) advocated against hospitals and modern medicine.
In the same year, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) issued a warning about a cult called Youngblud Saints, targeting college students. “Members are encouraged to sacrifice what they love most to prove their loyalty to the organization,” the DCI warned in a statement calling on parents to watch their children.
But sects in Kenya have often managed to evade the law. Paul Mackenzie Nthenge himself was arrested in 2017 on charges of “radicalization”. He was arrested again in March after two children starved to death in the care of their parents. He had dismissed the charges and was released on bail of 100,000 Kenyan shillings (about 670 euros). He is now being held, along with 14 others, in the Shakahola Forest deaths case.
