Kenyan President William Ruto said his government would take responsibility for the deaths of more than 200 members of a Christian cult who starved themselves in order “to meet Jesus.”
“I am not taking it lightly. I am taking responsibility that, as president, this should not have happened,” Ruto admitted over the weekend while apologizing for the incident. He added that “some people who are responsible for this failure on the part of the government will have to give an account.”
Speaking to RT, Jared Okello, a Kenyan pastor and governance expert, faulted law enforcement agencies in the country shocked by the “Shakahola forest massacre” for failing to regulate religious communities in compliance with state laws.
“They should have done their work with all the intelligence that they have to ensure that this did not happen,” Okello said.
Kenyan police have accused Good News International Church founder Paul Nthenge Mackenzie of instructing his followers to fast to death. He is being held in Mombasa on charges of preaching dangerous beliefs that resulted in the deaths of his followers.