- According to Masterclass publication, people involved in cult tend to centralize around one charismatic person—the cult leader.
- The leader orders the beliefs, behaviors, and customs of all the other members.
Image: FILE
Police in Kenya are trying to unravel the mystery surrounding the Kilifi cult that has so far led to the discovery of 67 bodies at Shakahola forest.
In what now appears to be a deadly cult linked to controversial preacher Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, many have questioned how the crime went on unnoticed for years.
Azimio faulted state agencies saying the deaths could have been stopped if security agencies would have done their job.
Former Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi, on the other hand, questioned why such acts occurred under the nose of security officers and they still went undetected.
President William Ruto has also condemned the act, terming it terrorism.
The controversial preacher was arrested on April 15 after discovering the bodies of four people suspected of having starved themselves to death.
He has denied wrongdoing but has been denied bail. He insists that he shut down his church in 2019.
So what is a cult?
A cult refers to a group of people with usually atypical beliefs living in relative isolation from the world.
As we move on from generation to generation, cultism has continued to soar in societies.
According to Masterclass publication, people involved in cults tend to centralize around one charismatic person—the cult leader.
The leader orders the beliefs, behaviors, and customs of all the other members.
In an interview with BBC, social psychologist Alexandra Stein says cults destroy people in a way they can't control.
"Cults exploit people, these are kind of what we call total listing systems they engulf all of a person's life and therefore all elements of that person's life end up getting exploited," she said.
Some of the characteristics of cultism involve an authoritarian control which encourages maximum dependency.
Members of a cult hold extreme beliefs which they are unable to question without fear or punishment from their leader.
Cult members tend to isolate themselves from their family members and friends to help them fulfil their leader's commands.
Cultism can be religious, political and sexual.
According to the publication, doomsday cults involve certain cults which come together to prepare for the allegedly imminent end of the world.
Political cult is where political groups morph into cults and set their belief on an ideology.
Spiritual cults serve as the main cult as many people tend to follow a particular individual whereas sexual cults involve a component of sexual abuse and sex as one of their primary functions.
People join cults for different reasons. Some of the reasons include troubled backgrounds, where members try to seek redress.
Others are people who have been brainwashed to follow something religiously and the quest for spiritual fulfilment.
People might join cultism because they feel mainstream culture has no place for them.