Kenya starvation cult leader goes on trial

NAIROBI

A Kenyan cult leader and dozens of co-defendants went on trial on terrorism charges on July 8 over the deaths of hundreds of followers.

Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie's doomsday starvation cult and what has been dubbed the "Shakahola forest massacre," is one of the world's worst cult-related tragedies in recent decades.

Four bodies were initially found in April last year in the vast Shakahola forest that lies inland from the Indian Ocean town of Malindi, leading to exhumations and the discovery of mass graves containing hundreds of victims.

Mackenzie, who was arrested the day after the first bodies were found, is alleged to have incited his followers to starve to death in order to "meet Jesus."

An "enforcer gang" was tasked with ensuring that no one broke their fast or left the forest hideout alive.

Autopsies have revealed the majority of the victims died of hunger, while others from being strangled, beaten or suffocated.

A former taxi driver turned preacher, Mackenzie founded his Good News International Church in 2003, setting up branches in Nairobi and along Kenya's coast.

In 2017, he launched a YouTube channel, broadcasting videos that warned followers against "demonic" practices like wearing wigs and using mobile money.

After running afoul of the law for his apocalyptic preaching, he said he closed his church in 2019 and moved to Shakahola.

A father of seven, he was also the "co-director of a media house that was used to deliver apocalyptic or end time sermons constituting the subject of the investigations," court documents seen by AFP said.

To date, more than 440 bodies have been found in shallow mass graves. Only a small percentage of the victims have been identified. Sixty-seven adults and 25 children, aged between one and 17 years, were rescued.

Mackenzie is being held alongside 94 other suspects. They have been charged with murder, manslaughter, terrorism and child abuse, and have pleaded not guilty.

The fresh hearings from July 8 are due to run until July 11 and again from July 22-25, according to local media reports. Hearings in the manslaughter case are due to start in August.