Cultic leaders train their eyes on 'soft targets'

"Whenever I would meet them, I would notice disturbing changes. They were both looking like zombies, and this scared me," she says.

"They were not forthright with answers about their personal lives and everything about them was vague," says Kioko. "I was depressed and felt like a failure," she adds.

When one after the other, they ended up not graduating. She had to do something.

At a colleague's advice, she began consulting with a "prayer" expert based somewhere in Tanzania.

Prof. Geoffrey Wango, assistant professor and counselling psychologist at the University of Nairobi. [File, Standard]

"People often wonder how one person or a group of people, majorly and seemingly a preacher can turn evil," says Wango.

"On one hand this is the work of a narcissistic psychopath who largely influences people into a paranoid personality disorder. This emerges largely from the urge and obsession to gain power and control over other people," he says.

"On the other hand, narcissistic psychopaths could have a neurological disorder close to bipolar mania that leads to obsessive-compulsive disorders and a delusion of reality in which they are supreme human beings leading to paranoid ideation of their own supremacy, reign, and sovereignty over others and the world," he adds.

He goes on: "The religious leader has superior powers and is supreme, unquestionable and dominating... The sectoral group is not affiliated with any religion, temple, or group of churches because it emancipates from, and is spearheaded by the leader. It is important to note that the so-called charismatic spiritual leader has no theological training. At first glance, he or she appears highly progressive, social, and advocating the rights of people and will claim a humanitarian cause and that she or he is fighting for democratic ideals. However, he or she has dominion over others, his or her authority is unquestionable, non-questionable and there is blind following. This is because he or she has disillusionment with reality."

They train their eyes on 'soft targets' such as women and young people, the weak, poor, and undernourished (they are promised and soon provided with food, clothing, and shelter) other vulnerable groups such as the aged, widows, and orphans.