A Kenyan court has leveled murder charges against the leader of a starvation cult, Paul Mackenzie, and dozens of alleged accomplices in connection with the deaths of nearly 200 individuals in a forest near the Indian Ocean.
Paul Mackenzie, who has been previously charged with terrorism, manslaughter, child torture, and cruelty, is accused of inciting hundreds of his followers to starve themselves to death to “meet Jesus.”
On Tuesday, Mackenzie and 29 other suspects pleaded not guilty to 191 counts of murder. One additional suspect was found mentally unfit to stand trial and ordered to return to court at a later date.
The self-proclaimed pastor was arrested last April after bodies were discovered in the Shakahola forest, sparking global outrage.
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Autopsies revealed that many of the 429 victims had died of hunger, while others, including children, showed signs of strangulation, beating, or suffocation.
The case, known as the “Shakahola forest massacre,” prompted calls for stricter oversight of fringe religious groups in Kenya, a predominantly Christian nation where regulating unscrupulous churches and cults has been challenging.
Good News International Ministries, founded by Mackenzie, has been described in court documents as an “organised criminal group” involved in criminal activities that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of followers.
Despite previous brushes with the law, including charges of extreme preaching and alleged involvement in the deaths of two children in 2019, Mackenzie managed to evade law enforcement.
However, he was released on bail pending trial.
Efforts to regulate religious institutions in Kenya have faced opposition, with some viewing such measures as infringements on constitutional guarantees of the separation of church and state.
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