Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1236139,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1236139/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 217,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kilifi North, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Owen Baya",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Hon. Deputy Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 33(1), I rise to seek leave for the adjournment of the House for the purposes of discussing a definite matter of urgent national importance regarding mysterious killings in Shakahola in Kilifi County. Many lives have been lost in Shakahola, Kilifi County as a result of radical religious teachings by a controversial Pastor named Paul Mackenzie Nthenge. It is reported that Mr. Nthenge, through his purportedly skewed radical religious teachings, has been manipulating and indoctrinating locals to undertake extended periods of fasting in order to meet Jesus. A number of these people are reported to have died in the process including two children whose deaths in March 2023 were linked to the pastor. Shockingly, several bodies have also been discovered in what are suspected to be secret graves used to bury starved followers of Pastor Paul Mackenzie on his 800-acre ranch in Shakahola. The bodies have since been exhumed by the authorities. The pastor has been arrested twice, in 2019 and in March of this year, in relation to the deaths of children. However, he was released on bond, and both cases are still proceeding through the courts. The residents of Kilifi County urged the court not to release him, decrying the spread of cults in other regions of the county but their plea was not heeded. As a result, over 50 bodies believed to be of followers who fasted to death have been exhumed in his ranch as at Sunday, 23rd April, 2023. Appreciating the freedom to worship, there is need for the Government to enact laws and policies that prohibit and discourage unlawful practices that are not in line with conventional religious teachings and beliefs of a community in order to uphold the security of its citizens. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}