The number of sect followers who have fasted to death to enter heaven has risen to 73, police said today. Kenya.

“So far we have found 73 bodies in the forest” and the search will continue tomorrow, a police source told AFP.

sect leader

Paul Mackenzie Denge, the man accused of starving his followers to death in eastern Kenya, is a former taxi driver who declared himself a “pastor” in 2003 and whose extremist sermons have led to his arrest twice in recent years.

Today, Mackenzie Denge is accused of the “Sacahol Massacre” after dozens of bodies of members of Glad News International Church were found in the forest.which he founded in 2003. Kenyan President William Ruto called it the work of “terrorists”.

On April 14, police confirmed that local authorities had intervened when they were told that “innocent citizens starved to death believing they would meet Jesus after being brainwashed.”

That same night, Paul Mackenzie Dengue, knowing he was wanted, turned himself in to the police. He has since been detained and will stand trial on May 2.

The website of his organization states that the church “was founded on August 17, 2003 by the servant of God P.N. Mackenzie.” With branches in many parts of Kenya, the International Church of the Good News is estimated to have over 3,000 members, with 1,000 in the coastal city of Malindi.

“End of the World”

“The mission of this church is to holistically educate believers in all areas of Christian spirituality as we prepare for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ through teaching and evangelism,” he writes on the website.

Paul Mackenzie Denge broadcast a program called “Messages of the End of the World” in which he referred to “teachings, sermons, and prophecies about the end of the world, commonly referred to as eschatology.”

He claimed to “bring the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, free from deceit and human wisdom.”