Nairobi News

If you are unfamiliar with the name Pastor Paul Mackenzie Nthenge, you need to be aware of his involvement in numerous legal cases.

Recently, Mr Mackenzie hit the headlines for allegedly running a cult that forced members of his Good News International Church to starve to death.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) is currently exhuming bodies from mass graves as detectives work to uncover evidence against Pastor Paul Mackenzie Nthenge.

He is believed to have convinced his followers that dying of starvation would ensure their passage to heaven.

According to reports, the controversial church was founded by Mackenzie in 2003 and he urged his followers to starve themselves while he enjoyed lavish meals.

Mackenzie and his wife, Joys Mwikamba, were arraigned before Malindi Chief Magistrate Dr Julie Oseko in 2017. They denied charges of promoting radicalisation.

Also read: The high price of freeing Kilifi’s cult leader back in 2019 after he was linked to missing minors

In the same year, the director of the Mayungu Children Rescue Centre, Ms Hellen Mwikali, reported Mackenzie for allegedly radicalising children. However, no action has yet been taken against him.

In 2019, he was charged in court with the indoctrination of minors and religious incitement, which he also denied.

It all started when DCI officers based in Malindi arrested him with videos showing children and asking them not to go to school.

The videos also urged followers of his church not to respect or even listen to people of other faiths, including Islam, Buddhism and Hiduism.

On the second count, he was reported by the Kenya Films Classification Board (KFCB) for showing films that the board had not approved.

The KFCB also reported that he was running a film studio and producing films without a valid film licence from the board.

He was released on Sh1 million bail and in the same year (2019), KFCB shut down his television station.

Also read: Truth behind the Malindi cult-like church unveiled by ex-members