Poverty and hopelessness fuel religious extremism

[TrumanCapote]

As we post mortem the why of religious extremism in Kenya and other African countries, thanks to Mackenzie and ilk,we want the why.

First up are the survivors who lived to tell it all. One of the survivors said that he left Hola bcz he heard plots were going for 15k… In his own words, ni shida imenileta huko. Other survivors were lured with promises of free shambas. Now at what point do you move from rushing to Chakama for a brighter future to dying to meet Jesus?

I know that these people were under a spell, how else would they live in a forest with not even a latrine? Were they just going to the bush? I can’t imagine a woman working for an international airline living in a mud grass thatched hovel to meet Jesus. How?

I must admit that the man was compelling in his arguments of the signs of the end times bcz he really tried to connect the dots and have you thinking about the supporting evidence still it takes alot more to live under the conditions in that ranch.

Mr. Mackenzie himself came from a background of extreme poverty. His sister hooked a mzungu probably using charms too bcz that is the norm in Malindi. Women from extremely poverty stricken homes go hunting for their ticket out of the poverty.

In Kenya, our priority is money and power. This is how you get respect in Kenya. It does not matter how you made the money. As a taxi driver saw the respect people with money got. He wanted that respect and he was willing to sell his soul, that of his wives and recruits to the devil to get it.

The most scary part was that he had agents in university recruiting people for him. It’s obvious that with so many jobless graduates, people in universities are faced with a sense of hopelessness about their lives after graduation. Then here comes a guy who tells you that you don’t have to tarmac indefinitely and you can be wealthy by recruiting new followers and fasting.

I have flipped through Christian TV channels and realised that they have holy water, prayer cloths, anointing oil and other paraphernalia to give you hope, tangible hope, not the abstract one. Kenyans are a desperate lot. The current government has only made things worse. People are taking hope wherever they can find it bcz they would probably die of depression if they just face the facts of their prospects in this country.

It’s really heartbreaking when a Kenyan can be lured with promises of better lives only to end up as victims of human sacrifice to enrich another poverty stricken Kenyan trying to claw his way out of poverty.

[Mbakaya]

@TrumanCapote

As we post mortem the why of religious extremism in Kenya and other African countries, thanks to Mackenzie and ilk,we want the why.

First up are the survivors who lived to tell it all. One of the survivors said that he left Hola bcz he heard plots were going for 15k.. In his own words, ni shida imenileta huko. Other survivors were lured with promises of free shambas. Now at what point do you move from rushing to Chakama for a brighter future to dying to meet Jesus?

I know that these people were under a spell, how else would they live in a forest with not even a latrine? Were they just going to the bush? I can’t imagine a woman working for an international airline living in a mud grass thatched hovel to meet Jesus. How?

I must admit that the man was compelling in his arguments of the signs of the end times bcz he really tried to connect the dots and have you thinking about the supporting evidence still it takes alot more to live under the conditions in that ranch.

Mr. Mackenzie himself came from a background of extreme poverty. His sister hooked a mzungu probably using charms too bcz that is the norm in Malindi. Women from extremely poverty stricken homes go hunting for their ticket out of the poverty.

In Kenya, our priority is money and power. This is how you get respect in Kenya. It does not matter how you made the money. As a taxi driver saw the respect people with money got. He wanted that respect and he was willing to sell his soul, that of his wives and recruits to the devil to get it.

The most scary part was that he had agents in university recruiting people for him. It’s obvious that with so many jobless graduates, people in universities are faced with a sense of hopelessness about their lives after graduation. Then here comes a guy who tells you that you don’t have to tarmac indefinitely and you can be wealthy by recruiting new followers and fasting.

I have flipped through Christian TV channels and realised that they have holy water, prayer cloths, anointing oil and other paraphernalia to give you hope, tangible hope, not the abstract one. Kenyans are a desperate lot. The current government has only made things worse. People are taking hope wherever they can find it bcz they would probably die of depression if they just face the facts of their prospects in this country.

It’s really heartbreaking when a Kenyan can be lured with promises of better lives only to end up as victims of human sacrifice to enrich another poverty stricken Kenyan trying to claw his way out of poverty.

I Strongly differ. The gullible mindset that will fall for anything cuts across social and economic status. To label cultism as a plight of the poor is intellectual laziness (No insult intended Trueman). How else do you explain cults like Illuminati, New Age, “Happy Valley” orgies, Satanism/devil-worship, secret-societies, which all have preternatural rituals not limited to Human sacrifices, Children sacrifices, consulting witches, sex on graves, etc. Those associated with this practices are often Rich and influential persons (Politicians, Celebs, Professionals, etc). My subjective opinion - We have a class of people on earth regardless of race, geographic boundaries, economic status, gender or age, whose mindset is gullible and hearts are void. Their unquestioning credulous vulnerable mindset will follow anything that offers to fill that void - cult, drug-addiction, gambling, depression, etc. The problem is CLINICAL in many forms manifested in things like depression, addiction, suicide, co-dependencies, etc. Cult leaders are only exploiting a vulnerable peoples and are no different from pimps, drug dealers, warlords, pyramid-scheme masters, political demagogues like our muguruki, etc.

[TrumanCapote]

@Mbakaya

I Strongly differ. The gullible mindset that will fall for anything cuts across social and economic status. To label cultism as a plight of the poor is intellectual laziness (No insult intended Trueman). How else do you explain cults like Illuminati, New Age, “Happy Valley” orgies, Satanism/devil-worship, secret-societies, which all have preternatural rituals not limited to Human sacrifices, Children sacrifices, consulting witches, sex on graves, etc. Those associated with this practices are often Rich and influential persons (Politicians, Celebs, Professionals, etc). My subjective opinion - We have a class of people on earth regardless of race, geographic boundaries, economic status, gender or age, whose mindset is gullible and hearts are void. Their unquestioning credulous vulnerable mindset will follow anything that offers to fill that void - cult, drug-addiction, gambling, depression, etc. The problem is CLINICAL in many forms manifested in things like depression, addiction, suicide, co-dependencies, etc. Cult leaders are only exploiting a vulnerable peoples and are no different from pimps, drug dealers, warlords, pyramid-scheme masters, political demagogues like our muguruki, etc.

Clinical is a term used by the spiritually dead when defining a spiritual hunger and thirst. The victims acted out of faith and they were willing to lose everything to meet Someone who was very precious to them. More precious than their worldly possessions and their lives. I am impressed that in this era of unbridled greed, someone can do what these people did. They were sincerely wrong but that level of commitment is serious faith.

I like that political demagogue you are calling muguruki. 8 million Kenyans do so I guess I am in good company. I am waiting to be proven wrong by your nabii Zakayo but I am not holding my breath.