Why do surviving Kenyan cult members continue to fast?

The men attempted suicide on Monday after repeatedly refusing meals offered to them after being rescued from the Shakahola forest in April.

Cult leader Paul Mackenzie in court in Mombasa, Kenya on June 2. Photo: Getty Images

The cult's leader, Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, is accused of "brainwashing" hundreds of his followers into starving their children and then themselves, according to court documents obtained by CNN.

Authorities have now discovered the bodies of 318 people after exhuming 15 more on Wednesday. In a tweet on Thursday, the Kenyan Director of Public Prosecutions Office said a court had ruled that 64 people under observation should be returned to the rescue center and “subject to psychiatric evaluation.”

Meanwhile, Mackenzie and 29 other accomplices were transferred from the police station to prison at the request of prosecutors. Only Mackenzie and his assistant, Smart Mwakalama, ate their meals while the other suspects continued their hunger strike.

Video aired on Citizen TV showed several cult members collapsing on their way to court on Wednesday; the 16 suspects were said to have “become increasingly weak” due to their hunger strike.

Neither Mackenzie nor his co-defendant have been formally charged as prosecutors continue to seek extended detention for further investigation. The next hearing for Mackenzie and his co-defendants is scheduled for June 21.

Authorities began investigating the group's activities in April after receiving a tip that land owned by Mackenzie contained mass graves.

Mackenzie has closed his Good News International (GNI) Church and moved the sect deep into the Shakahola Forest in Kilifi County, eastern Kenya, after acquiring a large amount of land there last year.

Mai Anh (according to CNN)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/tai-sao-nhung-thanh-vien-giao-phai-song-sot-o-kenya-tiep-tuc-nhin-an-post252008.html