内容摘要：“In the end I may see a colour and call it ‘red’, someone else may call it ‘rot’ or ‘rouge’ … but also another may look at it a bit more closely and say ‘well it’s claret’ or ‘crimson’.”

“In the end I may see a colour and call it ‘red’, someone else may call it ‘rot’ or ‘rouge’ … but also another may look at it a bit more closely and say ‘well it’s claret’ or ‘crimson’.”

Both Grace Kazungu’s parents and two of her siblings perished in the Shakhola church cult, says the 32-year-old mother of three from Kilifi.Whenever she and her brother tried to question the church’s teachings, the others would not hear a word against it, she told Al Jazeera.

“They would argue that we were ‘anti-Christ’ and that their church was the only sacred and holy way to heaven,” she said.“Months later, I heard from my brother that they had sold the family’s property and were going to live inside the church after ditching earthly possessions.“We tried to reach them but were blocked by their leader. My husband broke the news to me one morning after a year that they had been found inside the forest and they were dead and buried.”

After their deaths, they were buried in mass graves within the Shakahola Forest where the church was located. Upon discovery, following a tip from the local media, the police launched an operation to cordon off the area so they could exhume the bodies, test for DNA, and return the deceased to their relatives for proper burial.They later arrested the church leader, McKenzie, and charged him with the murder of 191 people, child torture, and “terrorism”. He and several other co-accused remain in police custody, pending sentencing.

Unlike Shakahola, the Migori church allowed its followers to work, eat and run businesses in the nearby Opapo and Rongo towns. But like Shakahola, it also kept them living apart from the rest of society, barred them from accessing school, marriage and medical care, and severely punished supposed transgressions, according to locals who heard and witnessed violent beatings and fights inside the compound.

In many societies, religious leaders are widely respected and trusted, and they often influence beliefs and actions in the private and public spheres, explained Fathima Azmiya Badurdee, a postdoctoral researcher in the faculty of Religion, Culture and Society at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.Major brands such as Audi, Mercedes and BMW continue to be on sale at large auto dealers like Rolf, albeit sometimes at inflated prices.

Rolf did not respond to an emailed request for comment.Other products are just a click away online.

Valentina, a pensioner from Russia’s Kaluga region, bought a Lego set for her grandson on the Russian online marketplace Ozon after briefly considering picking one up on a visit to neighbouring Latvia."The price is the same and they'll even deliver the item right to your door,” Valentina told Al Jazeera.