Kenyan police have arrested “Pastor Zablon Wa Yesu,” a suspected co-mastermind and lead clergy of preacher Paul Mackenzie’s church. Zablon was found reading a Bible on the 800-acre land owned by Mackenzie.
He was among five people rescued on Monday during an operation to find members of Mackenzie’s cult hiding in the forest.
This is the second senior member of the church to be arrested. Mackenzie’s church, located in the north coastal town of Malindi, has been accused of operating a “suicide sect,” leading to global attention on the matter.
In a video uploaded on a YouTube channel, ‘End Times Breaking- Mackenzie,’ the controversial preacher claimed to have started preaching in 2010.
On Monday, 20 more bodies were exhumed at the 800-acre Shakahola land in Magarini, Kilifi, bringing the total number of exhumed bodies to 67. Six bodies were found in one grave.
Investigations into Mackenzie’s church-cult have intensified, and two teams are currently combing the forest to rescue more people.
Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome and Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Amin Mohammed visited the area on Monday to oversee the exhumation of the bodies.
They also said that 29 more people had been rescued and they are investigating the ownership of the parcel of land where Mackenzie’s church was located.
