14 DAY TRIAL // The Bible tells us that, after being baptized, Jesus retreated to the Judaean Desert, where he remained alone and fasted for 40 days and 40 nights.
As proof of devotion, a Christian man in Zimbabwe attempted to follow Jesus' lead and fast for 40 days and nights straight himself, all the while isolated from friends and family, in the wilderness.
Except he only made it to day 30
The 73-year-old man, named Khulu Reinfirst Manyuka, left home and headed out into the wilderness on June 15 of this year. He told his family that he wanted to spend some time alone to pray and cut all ties with earthly preoccupations.
After about a month, however, somebody chanced to find his lifeless body and alerted authorities. Apparently, Khulu Reinfirst Manyuka only made it to day 30 of his reenactment of the biblical temptation of the Chris.
His family were shocked to hear about his death. More so since, despite being 73 years old, the man was in good health and had no history of illness.
“After a month we got the sad news of his death. He was a very spiritual man. It's unfortunate he had to die this way. He was a healthy and religious man who did not even look his age,” Khulu Reinfirst Manyuka's family said in an interview, as cited by Nehanda Radio.
Chances are the man starved to death
Medical experts have not yet settled on a cause of death. All the same, it's safe to assume that, after fasting for days and nights on end, it was starvation that ultimately killed 73-year-old Khulu Reinfirst Manyuka.
By the looks of it, retreating into the wilderness to fast and meditate is a common practice in Zimbabwe. Some people occasionally fall ill, but authorities insist that their hands are bound and that they can't go around telling people that they can't fast.
“We have received such reports before, but we cannot stop the public from fasting,” spokesperson for the local police explained.