Heart Starts Pounding: Horrors, Hauntings and Mysteries
107. Starvation Cult Uncovered in Backwoods of Kenya
Thu, 27 Feb 2025
In 2024, over 600 bodies were found buried in shallow graves on a compound in the Shakahola forest. Paul Mackenzie had told his followers if they reduced their food intake, they would meet Jesus. This left many with the question- how did things get this bad? Trigger warning: Child abuse Subscribe on Patreon for bonus content and to become a member of our Rogue Detecting Society (this months bonus episode is on Abandoned Places). Patrons have access to bonus content as well as other perks. And members of our High Council on Patreon have access to our after-show called Footnotes, where I share my case file with our producer, Matt. Apple subscriptions are now live! Get access to bonus episodes and more when you subscribe on Apple Podcasts. Follow on Tik Tok and Instagram for a daily dose of horror. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Who is Victor Kaudo and what did he discover in the Shakahola forest?
Victor Kaudo walks through the thick, isolated Shakahola forest in Kenya with a group of men. Soft brown dirt absorbs the sound of their footsteps. They're trying to keep a low profile as they duck behind the low trees. Each one of them holds their breath in anticipation and fear. Victor is the head of the Human Rights Center in Malindi, Kenya.
So he's seen his fair share of suffering, but what he's looking for in the Shakahola forest is worse than anything he's ever encountered. See, several people had visited Victor recently with shocking rumors about a church gone very sideways out here in the wilderness. They said it's become a cult.
Victor took these concerns to the local police, but they claimed they couldn't do anything without hard evidence. So now, Victor is here in the forest himself with a few other men, not knowing what they would find, but fearing the worst. Some of the men actually had relatives disappear in recent months, and now they're filled with a mix of hope and dread that they'll find them here.
This forest, by the way, is huge. Over 800 acres of low, sparse trees, and it's really isolated. The closest city, Malindi, is a two and a half hour drive down a dirt road. No one is stumbling upon this place accidentally. Everyone in Victor's group is moving cautiously, when all of a sudden he sees something in the distance.
It's a guard walking back and forth like he's patrolling a perimeter, and there's a long, sharp machete in one hand, caked in dark red stains. To his left is another guard, and then another, all holding machetes, ready to fight whoever was trying to get in. or maybe out. They must be close to the compound, Victor thinks, and he keeps slowly picking his way through the brush.
And just then, he hears something. Someone's struggling. The group makes their way towards the sound when they see someone very small. It's a boy, around 10, tied to a tree with a thick rope. He's using his frail arms to try and free himself, but it's not working. The first thing that shocks the men is the state that the boy is in. He's only wearing a dirty pair of pants.
His bare torso is so emaciated that his entire rib cage is visible and collarbones poke out by his neck. Two of the men actually break down crying when they see the boy, not because they've saved him, but because they recognize him. He's their cousin, one that disappeared recently after his mother had them join a new church. So they all rush to free him.
The boy whispers hysterically, hurry, today is my wedding day. Wedding day, they ask. You're going to be married? But the boy shakes his head frantically. Around here, wedding doesn't mean marriage. It means something far worse. Where are your siblings, one of the men asks. The boy just points to a pile of dirt nearby, and dread washes over Victor as he realizes what it is.
a fresh grave he gazes out into the thick stretch of trees all around whatever is out there he's in way over his head Welcome to Heart Starts Pounding, a podcast of horrors, hauntings, and mysteries. As always, I'm your host, Kayla Moore. Today's episode is about one of the most shocking modern cults of our time.
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