On Tuesday, a Kenyan court pressed charges against the leader of a starvation cult alongside dozens of suspected accomplices, for the alleged murder of nearly 200 individuals in a forest near the Indian Ocean.
Paul Mackenzie, a self-proclaimed pastor already facing charges of terrorism, manslaughter, child torture, and cruelty, is accused of persuading hundreds of his followers to starve themselves to death in pursuit of “meeting Jesus.”
On Tuesday, Mackenzie and 29 other suspects pleaded not guilty to 191 counts of murder, according to court documents seen by AFP.
in additional suspect was deemed mentally unfit for trial and ordered to return to the Malindi High Court in a month’s time.
Mackenzie, the cult leader has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him. He was arrested in April last year following the discovery of bodies in the Shakahola forest, prompting global shock and outrage. Autopsies revealed that most of the 429 victims died of starvation, while others, including children, showed signs of strangulation, beating, or suffocation.
Termed the “Shakahola forest massacre,” the case prompted calls from the government for stricter regulation of fringe religious groups. Despite being predominantly Christian, Kenya has struggled to oversee unscrupulous churches and cults involved in criminal activities.
Court documents describe Mackenzie’s Good News International Ministries as “an organized criminal group” responsible for the deaths of hundreds of followers.
Concerns have been raised about how Mackenzie evaded law enforcement despite a history of extremism and prior legal entanglements. A Senate Commission of Inquiry revealed that Mackenzie had faced charges in 2017 related to radical preaching and illegal provision of school teaching, which he claimed was contrary to biblical principles. In 2019, he was accused of involvement in the deaths of two children, allegedly starved, suffocated, and buried in a shallow grave in Shakahola. He was released on bail pending trial.
There are more than 4,000 churches registered in the East African country of 53 million people, according to government figures.
Past attempts to oversee religious institutions in Kenya have encountered strong opposition, seen as endeavors to undercut constitutional assurances regarding the separation of church and state.
