Malindi Cult's Fasting Doctrine Came From Latter Rain

Paul Nthenge Mackenzie's Malindi Cult was radicalized by the doctrinal teachings of William Branham, leader of the Post WWII Healing Revival and one of two primary catalysts for the Latter Rain Movement that originated in North Battleford, Saskatchewan.  Mackenzie brainwashed his converts[1] to believe one of the most fundamental doctrinal teachings of the Latter Rain during its early years: fasting.

The Latter Rain version of William Branham's "Message" — the same version that attracted Jim Jones of Peoples Temple who convinced over 900 followers to commit mass suicide in Jonestown, Guyana — originally taught converts to fast for excessive periods of time.  The Latter Rain had a fundamental doctrine of fasting to achieve "atomic power" as described in Franklin Hall's book, Atomic Power With God through Fasting and Prayer.  According to the doctrinal teaching, converts were instructed to fast for forty days.

It can only be the beginning of a new age for good if the power of the Spirit is developed to a high degree in many, by the most powerful agent known to man, FASTING AND PRAYER.  A twenty-one, or forty day Prayer and Fast period will most assuredly hasten the Christian to such a great and eep experience with God that twenty-one days would be equal to twenty-one years.  Forty days equal to forty years (Experience shows that the forty day period gives far greater results than a shorter time)
- Franklin Hall, Atomic Power With God Through Fasting and Prayer

This fasting, however, presented problems.  As time went on, many people were becoming very ill.  Some were losing their minds.  In later years, as the fasting doctrine became frowned upon by a majority of leaders and converts in the Latter Rain Movement, William Branham partially abandoned the doctrine.

In one revival in 1961, Branham admitted that people were going insane through the fasting doctrine.  He mentioned the book, though he did not mention its name or the fact that he himself toured with Franklin Hall to promote the fasting doctrine in earlier years.  Rather than fully abandon the doctrine, however, Branham claimed that there was a fast that "God puts on you", and during that type of fast, one does not hunger.

I've had people, after a certain book was wrote and put out about fasting, people come to my line: women, pregnant and things like that, come in my line, lose their, lose their mind, come—go into insane institutions from that. See? 'Course you can't do that. Just because somebody else done it, that's no sign that you're supposed to do it. Let God lead you to do what you're doing. If you're led to, when you get hungry, it's time to eat. When God puts a fast on you, you don't get hungry. It's God dealing with you. 'Jesus was afterwards an hungered.' See? After His fast was over, He hungered. But…So however, just let that…You just judge that by yourself, I'm…Your pastor is more apt—a better position to tell you those things. If I said wrong, or…Forgive me.[2]
- William Branham, 1961, January 25. Why? (61-0125). 

This is the type of fast that radicalized Paul Mackenzie's Malindi cult sect.  Mackenzie taught his converts to believe that they should fast and pray for several days, leading several people to their deaths through hunger.  Like the Latter Rain version of the doctrine, Mackenzie believed that the fast would hasten the convert's passage into heaven by cleansing their body of the "evil".

As a result, many people in Mackenzie's church began to fast until their death.

In the cult, people were allegedly encouraged to fast to death to make it to heaven. The controversial Malindi preacher Paul Mackenzie of Good News International has been preaching to his followers to fast and pray for several days and eventually, a number of them have died due to hunger.[3]
- The Star (Kenya)