Snook - Horrifying Unknown Cults

Episode Date: March 27, 2026

Within ordinary towns and quiet neighborhoods, secret cults still thrive today, groups so hidden and disturbing that most people don’t even realize they exist. Today, we're diving into some Horrifying Unknown Cults... Would you like to see another part in this series? Let me know down below. Thanks for watching and supporting the channel. Join the Patreon! ⁠https://www.patreon.com/SnookYT Follow me on instagram and Spotify! And yes, I'm a human voice. NEXT SUB GOAL - 100,000 followers! And rate 5 stars! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The most dangerous cults don't start with violence. They start with belief. A charismatic leader, a world they claim is broken, and a promise that obedience will be rewarded. These cults don't hide in the shadows or the wilderness. They operate in plain sight as churches, communities, and spiritual movements. For years, they went unnoticed, until families disappeared. Children stopped going to school,

and bodies began to surface. In today's video, we're examining some horrifying unknown cults, cults that destroyed hundreds of lives without ever becoming household names. And make sure to like the video and subscribe to the channel. Let's begin. The Mad Reverend of Shaka Hola. Kenya, 2003. It's a warm, sunny morning in the metropolitan capital city of Nairobi.

Children are dressing uniform, laughing and walking together, through the doors of schoolhouses all over the city. Traffic in Nairobi is famously bad. Cars and buses begin congesting at sunrise, so school has to start early. For primary school, the morning assembly begins at 7.30 a.m. All of the children have lined up inside the school, and the teacher begins taking roll call. Brian is here, Emmanuel is here, Naomi is here, but John is not. The teacher moves on, but at the end of the day, she contacts the head teacher and tells him, John was not in attendance.

The head teacher is immediately concerned. John was a bright young boy of nine years, with an infectious smile and a pleasant attitude. Last year, he never missed a day of school. In fact, he loved it, but this year was different. He hadn't shown up today, or yesterday, or the day before. In fact, he hadn't been seen for over two weeks. Police are called for a wellness check. They arrive at John's family home and knock.

His mother answers. They ask if John is okay. And strangely enough, she says yes. He's inside, reading the Bible. They ask her why her son has not been attending school. And quickly, almost like she's reciting a script, the mother says, quote, My son no longer attends primary school.

education is evil. Jesus dislikes education. Good day. And just like that, she shuts the door, and the conversation is over. The policemen are angry, confused, but they aren't surprised. In the past month, multiple children have been pulled from school, never to return. And when confronted, every parent says the exact same thing. Jesus frowns on education.

The pastor says. What I just told you is based on actual court testimony. And that mysterious pastor, the one who convinced parents across Nairobi to pull their kids from school, well, he's the leader of one of the most horrible religious cults to ever exist. One so dark, so disturbing, I had to take multiple breaks while riding about it. And the entire communities of Kenyan citizens would fall victim to his gods. The pastor's name was Paul McKenzie, and I'll warn you now, this story does not have a happy ending. He began preaching in 1997.

At the time, he was a taxi driver, and he would interpret the Bible for passengers, many of whom were repeat customers. When his shift was over, he'd take to the streets and do the same. Paul McKenzie believed that the government and their institutions were corrupt, marked by the beast, and at the time, he wasn't really wrong. In the late 1990s, Kenya had a problem. They'd won their independence from British colonial rule in the 1960s, and for the next two decades, they reaped the benefits of a growing, thriving post-independence economy. Although in the 1970s, a man named Daniel Moy became president. He was the frontrunner for the dominant political party, the canoe, and took control in 1978.

Technically, Kenya was a multi-party state, but politics were tightly controlled by more. opposition was marginalized. Freedom of speech and freedom of the press were marginalized. Formerly democratic institutions were reduced to puppet institutions and corruption became not just rampant, but obvious. There were multiple high-profile government scandals that sent the Kenyan people into a recession. Nobody wanted to invest in the corrupt government of Kenya. Social reform was proposed, but never properly instituted. The power of the Kenyan people. currency, the Kenyan shilling, faltered and poverty became rampant. Inequality was at an all-time high.

Growth was reduced to a knot percent, and people were out of work in mass, all while government officials lined their pockets, and Paul McKenzie was working in the beating heart of Kenya's largest and most impacted city. He wasn't just a taxi driver anymore. He was a preacher for the people. His interpretation of the Bible and his sermons reflected the grievances. of many Kenyan citizens. He told them that not only was the Kenyan government corrupt,

it was a bedlam of sin. The secular life they'd been living in with its failing economy and infrastructure, it wasn't just uncomfortable. It was unholy. And he shared his radical beliefs with reverence and passion. He believed that education was not only unnecessary, but blasphemous, because it's never discussed in the Bible.

Quote, pull your children from school. They're in the dead. Den of the Beast. Jobs, too, weren't required to enter God's kingdom. In fact, they were discouraged, quote, leave your earthly possessions behind, become a true patron of God's kingdom. Hospitals were worldly, sinful places. If you went to a hospital for medical attention, you were blaspheming the power of God. Quote, Jesus will heal your ailments, put your trust in God and God alone. But Paul McKenzie didn't want his followers to starve. He offered solutions.

He could teach your children. True biblical living. He could employ you to carry God's message, spread his gospel. He could heal you. And his following began to grow. Quote, My mother stopped me from attending school because she believed education displeased Jesus. I had no power to object. And the abuse endured by the children only grew worse as time went on. They were under the strict supervision of Paul and his flock. The group implemented new rules, like intermittent fasting, and parents extended these rules onto their children. Quote, I went for days without eating. After stealing some food, I was being by his followers. Before long, he'd caught the attention of the local police. To them, he was no savior. They saw

through his holier-than-thou act. He was a troublemaker, and his teachings were dangerous. On four separate occasions, he was arrested and charged with radicalization, and encouraging parents to pull their children from schools. But there was no proof. At that time, there was no formal institution, just Paul McKenzie. And if you didn't actually hear his sermons, how could you charge him? Well, you couldn't.

He was never sent to jail. and every arrest proved to strengthen his foundation of belief and the loyalty of his following. Come 2003, a new idea began to develop. He wanted to start his own church, plant a flag somewhere safe, but he was very conscious of police attention. He was under the microscope, and he knew it. In order to execute his vision and avoid re-arrest, he would need to leave Norobi. Paul and a handful of loyalists moved to the, coastal town of Melindi, a nine-hour drive from Nairobi. With a smaller population of 100,000 people, Paul was free to build a new institution without intervention. He called it the Good News

International Church. They know education is evil, but they use it for their own gains, he says in one sermon, those who sell uniforms, write books, those who make pens, all kinds of rubbish, they use your money to enrich themselves while you become poor. Upon arrival, he set up a small settlement in Melendi and began preaching more vehemently. This time with a small group of followers to support him, he made a bolder claim. He, and he alone, could speak with God directly. Everything that came out of his mouth was gospel. At one point, the church had a YouTube channel because apparently YouTube was perfectly fine for whatever reason,

but logic is out of the window by this point. In one of their now deleted videos, a woman explains how she delivered a baby through prayer, without the need for a C-section. That same woman then had a revelation, presumably from the Holy Spirit, to go and warn her neighbors not to vaccinate their kids. And this is the madness he incited. People were vulnerable, impoverished, alone, isolated, and he took this as an opportunity to infect their minds with this mess.

made up horseshit, and people wanted to believe in something, so they believed in him. They wanted a savior, and in lieu of Jesus himself, they unknowingly aligned with a false prophet. Around this time, another doctrine began to emerge. The world was ending. He predicted the world would end on April 15, 2023, salvation for the pious, damnation for the earthly sinner, and this new fact of life apply pressure to the people. They could risk living their sinful lives or join him for the promise of a blissful eternity. Over the next 13 years, he slowly seated this fear into the minds of the villagers.

By 2016, he had accrued approximately 1,000 followers. Pull your kids from school, God will teach you. Give up your earthly possessions. God will feed you. Abandoned civil life. And God will protect you. And people did. Families were encouraged to sell their lands, houses, and possessions and give them to the church.

If they wanted to see the pearly gates, they had to give up their bodies, minds, and riches to him. Who else would they give it to? The New World Order? The government? Those intent on destroying the Kenyan people? The Christian people? No. It would be better served with him.

He encouraged one man to sell his property in Lemu for 20 million Kenyan shillings, approximately 200,000 USD, and the money the man made was donated right back to Paul McKenzie. And this was just one of the biggest examples. Plenty of people were doing this all across Kenya, from Nairobi to Melindi, selling their earthly possessions and land, uprooting their lives and traveling to convene with the Reverend Paul McKenzie. He used his money to buy property in Malindi and Mombasa for living and for schools. as well as two vehicles.

He also used the money to fund an unlicensed television broadcasting station, which is insane, but he was able to do it. And with this newfound power, he was able to quickly spread his doctrine of lies across the whole of Kenya via TV evangelism. Seeing the success this brought the church, dozens of other members with large properties and stores of wealth who were unwilling to let go of their possessions, followed suit, routing all of the money to Paul McKenzie. Come 2017, his follower counts had grown to 3,000 people from all over the nation,

and a handful of followers from neighboring nations who had heard the good word of the Reverend Paul McKenzie, and because of this, children weren't just being abused, they weren't just being starved, children began to die. Like I said before, the group didn't believe in medical care, so after hundreds of of parents neglected the needs of their children, well, their stubborn loyalty to ecclesiasticism killed several children. And suddenly, the heat of police attention was back. And it wasn't just hot. It was angry. The police stormed the church and arrested Paul McKenzie. Like before, Paul was charged with radicalization. But this time, he'd racked up charges of endangering children,

running an unauthorized school, and operating an un-sacctioned TV station. During the raid, 93 children were rescued, malnourished and frail from intermittent fasting and disease. Some were beaten. Some were close to death. After his arrest, the television station was shut down. Now, you'd think that would be the end of Paul McKenzie's reign of terror. But you'd be dead wrong. This story is just beginning.

And it's about to get much, much worse. Paul McKenzie is released from jail. He is acquitted of one charge and another is dropped. Well, how did he manage that? I mean, now the police have proof, right? Well, like I said, by this time, he was filthy, rich. He had money for good lawyers, and those lawyers fought for him tooth and nail. While this was happening, other religious leaders in the area, as well as government officials,

condemned Paul for his history of abuse and radicalization. They'd announced him for encouraging parents to, pull their children from schools, for fanangling innocent people out of their money, and for being just an all-around piece of shit. But there was more trouble brewing for Paul McKenzie. And to understand it, we have to learn a little bit more about Kenyan politics. Now, by this time in 2019, Kenya has had two different presidents. The last was a spiritual successor to Daniel Moy, the man who created the economic problem to begin with. This success was named Mwai Kabaki, though the economy became healthier during his reign. It was a menial change,

a bandage, and the government was still rife with corruption. Still, he is considered one of Kenya's greatest presidents, but that's not who we're talking about here. But this new president, Uhuru Kenyatta, was supposed to be different. He was the son of Kenya's very first president, Jomo Kenyatta, who was revered for strength. His son's president, Uhruh Kyanata, was revered for strength. His son's presidency ran on a platform of infrastructure and developmental reform. He wanted to fix some of the problems created during the last two presidencies. But he had bigger eyes than his stomach for how to actually do that. He borrowed a ton of money from China, public debt skyrocketed,

and although infrastructure like the major highways between Mombasa to Nairobi were fixed and improved, as well as strong investments in other highways, ports and energy projects, All that money being spent made the cost of living skyrocket. And as his public approval rating tanked, he needed something big to sway voters back to him. So he implemented one of the biggest and most controversial public reforms in modern Kenyan history. Huduma Naumbha. Houduma Naumba was essentially a proposal that would combine all of the citizens' government identification into one. ID, birth certificate, tax records, health services, voting info, all combined into one clean number.

The actual adoption of this system was difficult. It was rolled out too quickly. There weren't proper safeguards, and it became a multi-billion dollar thorn in the side of an already struggling Kenyan economy. But more than that, President Kenyatta needed the support of the people. if they would only agree to adopt the system. However flawed, his campaign could recover. Now, I know all of you love Kenyan history as much as I do, but you're probably thinking,

what does this have to do with anything we were previously talking about? Well, when Paul McKenzie got out of jail, he began a massive campaign against Houduma Numbha. He likens it to the mark of the beast. He calls it another example of the sinful, corrupt government trying to subdue the people. For the first time, he wasn't just preaching about injustice. He was directly confronting the people running the show.

Not only did this preaching attract a whole host of new followers, it royally pissed off the president. In 2019, Paul was arrested again for inciting people against registration for Houduma Naumba. But now he's also formally accused of brainwashing and kidnapping children. And this wasn't some. local ordinance. It was a public nationwide lashing by the president of Kenya. He was taking heat on the macro, and Paul was about to face the proverbial firing squad. After this incident,

Paul was too scared to operate. He decides to disband his church, leave Melendi, and relocate to a remote 800-acre patch of land in the nearby Chakahoala forest. Finally, after almost two decades, it seems like the Good News International Church was dead and gone. In fact, that's what Paul said to dissuade any further trouble. But, like always, he was lying. The government thought his church was dead, but in reality, it had just gone into hiding. Here it remained for four years, operating in the shadows, beneath the nose of officials, completely unregulated, completely isolated.

And there, in the forest, of Chakaola, the full horror of the beast that was Good News International Church reared its ugly head. Because, let's not forget, the end times were just around the corner. April 15th, 2023, the end of the world. In Nairobi, families have been going missing for weeks. Neighbors, relatives, nieces and nephews, gone. Just like that.

And nobody knew where they went. There were talking about Kieliff County, the neighboring town of Melindi, perhaps the Chakaholla Forest, but no one knew for sure. All they knew was that, presumably, a mass exodus was underway. Several people in Nairobi had disappeared and none had returned. While this was happening, one man, whose name is unknown, contacted the police. He claimed that, some weeks ago, his wife and daughter left Noroby to meet up with Paul McKenzie on a compound located deep in the Shagahola Forest.

Just like the others, they had been gone for some time and never returned. Police were skeptical. After all, if they did go to meet Paul McKenzie, it made sense why they hadn't come back yet. The cult was famous for encouraging people to uproot their lives. When you went to Paul McKenzie, you stayed with Paul McKenzie. However, even with their doubts, the police were required to investigate. So they made the long drive to Shaka Hola to confront the Good News International Church and bring the mother and the daughter home.

When they arrived at the forested compound, they found 15 people hiding away in the brush. But they couldn't avoid being spotted because all 15 of them were completely emaciated, starving and close to death. And even worse, nearby was a mound of upturned dirt, which officers recognized as a mass grave. The police immediately phoned for backup. Emergency services arrived to save the 15 people. They were so starved and so weak, four of them died in transit.

On the way, one of the victims explained what had happened. It was the end of the world. In order to see heaven and meet Jesus, Paul had given his flock one final commandment to follow. Starve yourself to death. Police officials began searching the commune, which was about twice the size of the country of Monaco, 800 acres, and immediately they began to unearth bodies. The first to be discovered was filled with a dozen children, the next, a family of five, and after that, a family of six. Backup was not enough. They called in help from every jurisdiction in every nearby region,

and together, the massive force began to surge. Amaciated survivors were often spotted, but with whatever strength they had, they would try to avoid capture. Some even hindered the investigation by distracting police, blocking off areas, or disguising the graves with foliage. According to survivors, the followers were told to avoid contact with outsiders during the mass starvation, or they would never see heaven. Quote, The fast will only count if we all gather together.

Destroy your earthly documents and join me. As police walked the ground, they found the corpse of a man in a shallow grave, completely covered in dirt. When they began to exhum him, they saw he was still breathing. The horror was immediate. He had been buried alive. Within three weeks, the body count had reached 113. The search had to be briefly halted because nearby hospitals were running out of mortuary space.

bodies were being stacked atop of bodies, and doctors worked around the clock to save survivors. The Red Cross conducted autopsies on the dead, and it was discovered that not everyone had died of starvation. Apparently, Paul had hired a group of armed criminals to execute any followers who attempted to escape the compound. Turns out, not everyone wanted to die for their religion. These people were executed. And those who weren't dying fast enough were similarly executed. Some had been shot, strangled, bludgeoned, and some were even missing organs. After months of searching, heavy rains began to limit any possibility of recovering bodies. So the search was officially called off.

And by the end of the investigation, they recovered 429 bodies. The majority of the deaths were children, with women being the next largest group. In total, 95 people were rescued. But that was not everyone. Today, there are still 613 people that were never recovered. And today are still considered missing. But after two years, it's safe to say they too were victims of Paul McKenzie, the mad reverend of Shakaola.

It's unknown whether that man who called the police ever covered his wife and daughter. I wish I could say he did, but I don't know. However, I'd like to point out, that man is responsible for saving 95 people, many of whom were women and children. So there's one silver lining. Today, Paul McKenzie is in custody awaiting trial. He faces so many charges,

too many to list, from radicalization to manslaughter to straight up religious terrorism. Anything you might expect to see, he's probably being charged with it. As well as Paul, 94 other suspects were arrested in connection with the Shakaholla Forest Massacre, many of whom are also awaiting trial. Now, there's so many more details I could talk about, like how 65 of the survivors were almost charged with committing S-word, because apparently that's a... mistimeter in Kenya? Or how Paul had a wife who helped execute everything from beginning to end. Or the numerous cronies and high-ranking followers who were just as responsible as Paul,

but I don't think that's the point I'd like to linger on. I learned a lot about Kenya writing this video. I learned a lot about the people, the government, the innocent families that were destroyed, the economic troubles they've been going through. And writing this video, I can't help but feel for the victims of Paul McKenzie. Perspectively, over a thousand people. They were all victims of a failing economy, a corrupt

government, completely and utterly vulnerable. And when they found refuge, finally, in religion, they were similarly betrayed. All they wanted was to feel seen and heard and cut out a little bit of heaven for themselves.

It's an absolute tragedy. It was completely avoidable and no one is talking about it. The Chakahole Massacre has the same death toll as Jonestown, and yet no one seems to really know about this. And I just think, all around, this is one of the saddest stories I have ever covered. My heart is with the Kenyan people. I hope that all of the living victims find closure and go on to live happy, healthy lives,

though I don't imagine that'll be easy. I hope they find that. And for all of the dead, I hope they found the peace they were looking for. Welcome to Fiji, Seoul, South Korea, 2014. Every Sunday morning, a sermon begins in an old industrial factory, outfitted with chairs for hundreds of parishioners. The followers arrive, calm and excited,

to hear the word of their pastor. They've waited all week to hear the gospel, and today, Sunday is a holy day for Grace Road Church. When they sit in the room falls silent, a woman walks out, the church leader, their savior. Her name is Shin Uchjo. She's a lifelong preacher with a long history of evangelical teachings, and over the past decade, she spent her time amassing a large following. She claims to be a Christian, but her doctrine is,

Extremist. In South Korea and around the world, she is regarded as blasphemous for her radical doctrine and abusive methodology, because just like Paul, she built her flock on a pretense, selling the end of the world. She believes that one day, and one day soon, Jesus will return. Armageddon will begin and the world will be destroyed. In preparation for this, they must cleanse their sinful souls and they can do that by, you guessed it, giving up all of their earthly possessions, disowning their friends and their families and pledging a total and absolute submission to Sheen. Together, they will join Sheen in finding the promised land, where the members of our church, the God-chosen survivors, will develop a farm so as to feed the now starving world and repopulate

in Jesus' name. We've seen this one before. And just like Paul, they were facing major scrutiny. After 11 years in operating in South Korea, the people were getting sick of the rhetoric, the trouble, and the pain her church caused them. Families once again were torn apart. Friends were never seen again, and if they were, they were avoidant, scared. Followers were beaten in heinous ritual cleansings,

and if Sheen didn't find the promised land soon, She was in trouble. So she sent her son, Daniel Kim, to find it. He spends many months traveling all over the world, attempting to find a country with the perfect climate, one that never snows and is always sunny, so they can prepare for the end times. And during this time, the legal troubles begin.

Sheen would frequently travel to the Americas to preach, and in early 2014, she landed in Brooklyn, New York. She invites a mentally ill Korean man to join her in New York. He was schizophrenic, and Sheen believed this was a result of his sinful soul. So she invites him to live at her Brooklyn church, revokes his ability to take his schizophrenia medications, and as his condition gets worse, she beats him, ties him to the bed at night, and shoves a sock in his mouth to muffle his screams. This continues for weeks, but her prayers aren't working.

She believes he needs more care. So one day, she duct taped into a chair and began to pray. We don't know the exact details of what happened during this ritual, but once it was done, the man was not only still a schizophrenic, he allegedly had to have his leg amputated because of the injuries he received. Today, he lives in a nursing home as his symptoms became unmanageable after the botched spiritual cleansing. This event sparked a massive civil case in the United States. Sheen Uchju was being sued for $6 million and was wanted for criminal charges.

And although she returned to South Korea, she still was not safe. The U.S. and South Korea have an extradition treaty, so if the states decided to file the paperwork, sheen would be arrested, and who knows how long she'd be arrested for. Right around this time, whether by chance or by design, Shin's son Daniel discovered the promised land. Fiji. Daniel actually had another destination after his Fijian trip, Nepal, but his flight gets delayed and he takes it as a sign from God.

This was where their followers were destined to be. There is, of course, some speculation on whether or not Daniel's story of finding the promised land is actually true. More likely, the spiritual moment was encouraged by growing. political pressures and the fear of jail time. That and there used to be a direct flight from Seoul to Fiji, which meant no layovers and no opportunities to arrest Shinuktu. The perfect escape plan.

In 2014, Grace Road Church made an announcement. They have clear evidence that Fiji is the promised land. And within a couple of weeks, Shinuktu and 400 of her followers made the journey to the Fijian island of Viti Lovo. Now, it's important to understand that by this point, Shinukju is incredibly rich, and she doesn't want the reputation of Grace Road Church getting in the way of her mission. She knew that. With all likelihood, if the Fijian people or their government found out that a colt was flying into set-up shop, they would never allow them entry. But she knew Kju was smart. She had a plan. Before the mass immigration, she bought up

property in Fiji. She began seeding investments in storefronts and land deals, all under the pretense of a South Korean business venture. So when it came time to finally leave Seoul, she and her flock arrived on the island as foreign investors. And the Fijians were none the wiser. As soon as the plane touches down, Sheen gets to work. She rounds up her followers and collects their passports. They won't be needing them anymore. Unbeknownst to her followers, By joining her in Fiji, they've agreed to give away their freedom to the Grace Road Church. The first thing on their docket was developing a farm. As per the mission statement, it was the job of Grace Road Church to feed the world once Armageddon came.

And Sheen had bought enough land to do exactly that. 3.8 hectares, 7 times larger than an American football field, to cultivate rice. They built a workstation, a farmhouse, hire some locals, and began working the field. Within the year, it's a sprawling, fertile farmland. But Grace Road Church isn't done. Sure, 3.8 hectares worth of rice is a lot of rice, but not nearly enough to sustain the victims of a worldwide apocalypse. In order to do that, they needed more land. And for more land, they needed more money.

And once again, Shinukchew, had a plan. In 2015, Grace Road Church opened its first restaurant, Grace Road Kitchen. It's located in Suva, the largest city on Viti Louvo, and the restaurant is an immediate success. The food is reportedly delicious. The space is clean, the workers are happy, and people spend a lot of money. Given the success of their first business, Grace Road decides to develop more. By the end of 2015, and I'll emphasize that this is the same exact year, they opened seven unique businesses. Grace Road Kitchen, noodle story, sunny pizza, awesome grill,

fierce chicken, snowy house dessert cafe, and pastry pacifika. They also launched a construction company, Grace Road Construction. With it, they would zone and build whatever businesses they wanted, but also seed into the Fijian government. In 2016, Hurricane Winston tore through the Fijian coastline, destroying houses and property alike. It caused $2 billion Fijian dollars worth of damage. Families were homeless. Communities were uprooted, and presumably it would take years to repair. And during this tragedy, Grace Road, seeing the devastation, offered to rebuild an entire village on the Grace Road dime.

They called it the Christian thing to do. I call it tactical. With their new positive reputation, they were able to create a relationship with the then Prime Minister of Fiji, Frank Baini Marama. By the end of 2016, they were adding an extension to the Prime Minister's House, to the tune of $3 million taxpayer dollars. Now, with the government in their pocket,

suddenly their expansion became unstoppable. In just another year, Grace Road Church would open a successful chain of supermarkets, mini-marts, beauty salons, dental services, hardware stores, shoe stores, and gas stations. Their restaurants turned from single stores to massive island-wide chains. Their 3.8 hectares of farmland evolved into 800 when they made a land-bine deal with the University of Fiji. Together, they grow and sell rice and vegetables, cows and Other farm animals for meat, milk, and cheese, they played the game in millions, bank loans, properties, more and more, until the cancer that was Grace Road Church, growing in the heart of Fiji,

had become an empire. Their acts of charity, as well as their strong economic prowess, concreted them as indispensable assets to the Fijian people. and now they were too pervasive to eliminate, too big to regulate, and the allegations of abuse were just beginning. Local Fijians hired to work for Grace Road began to suffer. They'd leave work with bruises because the church's favorite method of discipline was a heavy beating. They're told to avoid hospitals, or they'll lose their jobs. Newspapers attempt to interview them, but they always have the same response.

Quote, it was an accident. I tripped. And this might sound bad, but for the native South Koreans, their torment is far, far worse. The thrashings begin at night, and don't stop until the morning.

They are severely beaten, in the name of spiritual cleansing. If they try to escape or act out of turn, they're locked away in inescapable rooms. As punishment for the disrespect, children are separated from their parents, or beaten for their parents' actions, and then the parents themselves are beaten.

These Koreans don't get paid to work for Grace Road. Every South Korean seen in the beauty salons or the supermarkets is an enslaved laborer. A couple of followers have escaped since Grace Road moved to Fiji, but they are few and far between, because other members will personally drag you back to avoid their own lashings. And like I mentioned earlier,

The South Korean government was well aware of this, because Grace Road behaved similarly in South Korea, and they had been for a long time. In June of 2018, Shinuktu and a handful of her other close associates were arrested in the Seoul airport in South Korea. She was unaware of the warrant for her arrest and is still in jail today, charged with fraud, violence, child abuse, and more. But that's not the end of the story. Her son, Daniel, continued to work in Fiji, and his regime was just as dangerous and abusive as his mothers. He had the money, the connections, and the power to continue the Grace Road legacy for as long as he wanted. But the South Koreans wanted justice, and so they planned to infiltrate the Grace Road compound in Fiji under the cover of night and arrest David.

And that's exactly what they did. 17 South Korean officers working in secret with the local Fijian police would nightly sweep the compound, arresting high-ranking Grace Road thugs, and eventually Daniel Kim. They were astatic to finally put Grace Road to bed. But then, the unthinkable happened. The Fijian government stepped in and took over. The Koreans were sent home, and Daniel was let go. The governments of the world were outraged.

They threatened Fiji with human rights violations and sanctions, and Interpol put out a warrant for Daniel Kim's arrest. The threat was very real. Foreign trade would be tied up in red tape. Their place in the global economy would be revoked, but they did nothing. And you might be thinking, why? There's a cult living in your homeland, and you won't do anything about it? Well, like I said earlier,

the truth is it was too late. They allowed Grace Road to become too powerful. Their businesses were now fully entangled with whole aspects of Fijian life. Let's say they did extradite Daniel, and Grace Road had no leader. Well, then all of their property would be tied up while Daniel is in jail. 50 plus businesses with millions of dollars worth of economic growth shut down in an instant. That means regional economies slow to a halt. All of that property lays empty.

If they're paying rent, the rent stops coming in. Their million dollar loans go unpaid. The cost of living goes up. 100 plus local Fijians lose their jobs. And all in all, the Fijians are worse for wear. Grace Road Church put the Fijian government in a chokehold. They kick out the cult. Their nation takes the hit.

They keep them and their nation also takes the hit. It's a lose-lose situation, and so they chose to do nothing. And Grace Road Church paid the Prime Minister a pretty penny to do nothing. In 2023, a new Prime Minister took over, the leader of the opposition, Sidivani Rob Uka, in coordination with the South Korean government. They began cracking down on Grace Road. Two high-ranking members of the Church are, deported and arrested and Daniel goes on the run but other than that nothing much has changed

as of 2026 the businesses continue to operate they continue to rank in money and whatever is happening to their followers and employees we simply don't know presumably they've calmed down with all their beatings and abuses but they deny taking the passports and say their followers are free to go anytime which as we know is allegedly unlikely. Today, in 26, the Fijian government is still in a tough position. Many civilians are in support

of Grace Road. The truth is, for all of the evil, Grace Road is done. It's a massive economic contributor to Fiji. They employ over 100 locals, probably more by now. Keep the blood pressure of the Fijian dollar high

and produce so many goods and exports. It would be impossible to destroy the institution entirely. In that way, Sheen Okju was brilliant. She made sure that her church would have its claws so deep in Fiji, they could never pull her out. And so far, as we can tell, they won't be able to anytime soon. And currently, Shin Okju is serving a prison sentence in South Korea for her crimes as the founder of Grace Road, while her son Daniel remains at the helm of their Fiji enterprises, by international authorities, but currently not in custody.

And all right, guys, that wraps up some horrifying unknown cults. I hope you enjoyed today's video. I mean, the first cult was truly so horrifying. And yeah, I just think it's crazy that I've never heard of these cults before. And I assume you guys haven't either. So comment down below your thoughts. And please like the video and subscribe to the channel. It helps more than you know.

Follow me on Instagram and follow me on Spotify. I appreciate it so much. much and if you enjoyed this video i'm sure you'll enjoy other videos on the channel so go check out those and i just want to say thank you so much for watching to the end of the video it means the world you guys are the best community on youtube hands down and uh this was snook and i'll see you next time bye