Shakahola aftermath: Coast religious leaders get theological training to fight cult extremism

Pastors and church leaders from Kenya's Coast region are enrolling in a specialised programme covering theology and ethical leadership, as the country reckons with the lessons of the Shakahola massacre that killed more than 450 people. The training is part of a growing push to professionalise religious leadership and prevent a repeat of one of Kenya's worst cult disasters.

At the centre of this effort is the CBEM–Africa Bible Institute, which was established in 2021 specifically to strengthen the capacity of clergy across the region. The institution's principal, Bishop Frederick Kazungu Masha, confirmed that pastors have been moving through the programme since its founding. The first cohort to complete the course walked away with Diploma certificates in Theology — a milestone that signals the programme's growing maturity and impact.

Bishop Masha was keen to stress that the institute's work is not separate from what the government is doing, but rather runs alongside it. He argued that clergy who have received solid theological grounding are in a far stronger position to recognise harmful teachings when they emerge, challenge those responsible, and shield their congregations from manipulation. "Properly trained clergy are better positioned to identify, prevent, and counter teachings that may mislead believers," he said.

The CBEM–Africa Bible Institute does not operate in isolation. It has forged a working partnership with Mission Global Institute, a United States-based organisation with a wide international footprint. Dr. Scott Dalton, president of the American body, noted that Mission Global Institute runs Bible training programmes in more than 18 countries, giving local pastors access to theological resources and hands-on ministry skills that are shaped around the realities of their own communities.

The Shakahola tragedy, which unfolded deep in Kilifi County's forests, cast a long shadow over Kenya's religious landscape. Hundreds of followers of self-declared preacher Paul Mackenzie were found dead after being instructed to fast to their deaths in anticipation of meeting Jesus. The scale of the horror laid bare serious gaps in how Kenya's religious leaders are trained, screened, and held to account by both church bodies and the state.

For communities along the Coast — a region with a complex religious history and a diverse mix of faiths — programmes like this one carry particular weight. By pairing biblical literacy with practical leadership development, the institute is working to build a generation of clergy who are harder to discredit and harder for extremists to outmanoeuvre.

With formal theological training now within reach of more Coast-region pastors, and government efforts also gathering pace, there is cautious hope that the conditions that enabled Shakahola can be dismantled from the ground up — one trained, accountable religious leader at a time.