Back Malindi-kultus Afrikaans مجموعة ماليندي Arabic Good News International Ministries Czech Good News International Ministries Spanish Good News International Ministries Finnish Église internationale de Bonne Nouvelle French Good News International Ministries ID مالنڈی ہلاکتاں، کینیا ۲۰۲۳ء PNB Igreja Internacional das Boas Novas Portuguese Культ Малинди Russian

Good News International Ministries

Good News International Ministries
Logo used on Mackenzie's website
ClassificationNew religious movement
Apocalyptic, anti-Western and anti-Muslim church movement
OrientationBranhamism
LeaderPaul Nthenge Mackenzie (2003–present)
RegionKilifi County, Kenya
FounderPaul Nthenge Mackenzie
Origin2003
Defunct2019 (Mackenzie's claim)
2023 (police claim)
Official websitegoodnewsintlministries.blogspot.com (archived)

The Good News International Ministries (GNIM), also known as the Good News International Church and the Servant P. N. Mackenzie Ministries, and commonly referred to as the Shakahola cult, is an apocalyptic Christian new religious movement which was founded by Paul Nthenge Mackenzie and his first wife in 2003.[1] Following the deaths of over 400 of its members and their children at the movement's base in Shakahola, Kilifi County, Kenya, the group has been designated by the Kenyan government as an organized criminal group.[2][3] As of August 2024, Mackenzie was on trial, accused of manslaughter, torture and terrorism.[4]

GNIM attracted international attention in April 2023 when it was revealed that Mackenzie had allegedly instructed members to starve themselves en masse to "meet Jesus," resulting in the deaths of over 400 people.[5] The group, widely described[6] as a cult or doomsday cult,[1][2][7][8] is adamantly anti-Western, with amenities such as health care, education, and sports being dismissed as "evils of western life" and with Mackenzie condemning the United States, United Nations, and the Catholic Church as "tools of Satan". The group devotes much of its teachings to the end times. They were purportedly influenced by the End-Time Message of William Branham.[7][9] Homicide detectives working on the case alleged the group was radicalized by Branham's teachings, leading to their deaths.[10]

Mackenzie founded the GNIM in 2003 and accumulated a sizable following, largely due to convincing his followers that he could speak directly with God.[11] Beginning in the late 2010s, Mackenzie's church began to receive a renewed wave of scrutiny regarding the internal practices of the organization.[12] In 2017, Mackenzie and his wife faced several charges relating to the church. He was chastised for inciting students to abandon their education after denouncing it as "ungodly", as well as radicalizing and denying medical care to the children afterwards; several children died as a result and, in 2017, 93 children were rescued by government authorities from the group.[13] After another arrest in 2019, he departed Malindi and headed to the Shakahola forest, where the mass starvation occurred in 2023.

Mackenzie did not join his followers in the mass starvation; a dietary menu was found on the wall in one of the special houses in the forest believed to be his resting room. He was taken into police custody as the process of exhuming the bodies continued,[14] and on January 18, 2024, he was charged with 191 counts of murder. Police authorities claimed that some bodies were missing organs, and believed they were being harvested and sold.[15][16] However, this claim was refuted by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki on 10 May.[17] As of 8 May, autopsies performed on 112 of the exhumed bodies ruled out the possibility of organ harvesting.[18] The church was on 31st January 2024 declared by the Kenya government as an “organized criminal group” under the Prevention of Organized Crimes Act.[3]

  1. ^ a b "Kenyan authorities find 39 bodies during investigation of religious cult leader". PBS NewsHour. 23 April 2023. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Kenya cult: Children targeted to die first, pastor says". BBC News. 14 May 2023.
  3. ^ a b MAKONG, BRUHAN (31 January 2024). "CS Kindiki declares Mackenzie's Good News International Ministries an organized criminal group". Capital News. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  4. ^ "Kenya cult leader Paul Mackenzie on trial for manslaughter". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  5. ^ "Shakahola death toll climbs to 372 after 12 more bodies exhumed". 12 July 2023.
  6. ^ "Is it a cult?".
  7. ^ a b Dickson, Wakesa (23 April 2023). "Kilifi Cult: Police so far discover 58 shallow graves". Mandy News. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  8. ^ Obulutsa, George; Shirbon, Estelle (25 April 2023). "Kenya hunger cult deaths reach 89, minister prays survivors will 'tell the story'". Reuters. Archived from the original on 25 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference mpasha was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference pd was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "About Us". Good News Ministries. Archived from the original on 20 April 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  12. ^ "PRESS STATEMENT – PASTOR PAUL MACKENZIE". 27 April 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  13. ^ Okwembah, Nehemiah. "Controversial preacher to close down church". The Standard. Archived from the original on 27 April 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  14. ^ Kimeu, Caroline (2 May 2023). "Kenyan cult leader accused of inciting children to starve to death". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference organs was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ "Autopsies reveal missing organs in Kenya cult deaths, say police". The Guardian. 9 May 2023. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  17. ^ Kithi, Marion. "Kindiki dismisses police report on Shakahola body organs trade". The Standard. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  18. ^ "Autopsies rule out organ harvesting in Kenya cult deaths". Africa News. 8 May 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2023.

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