(FILES) Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie (C), who set up the Good News International Church in 2003 and is accused of inciting cult followers to starve to death "to meet Jesus", appears in the dock with other co-accused at the court in Malindi on May 2, 2023. - A Kenyan court on February 6, 2024 charged self-proclaimed pastor and cult leader Paul Nthenge Mackenzie and dozens of suspected accomplices with murder over the deaths of nearly 200 people. (Photo by SIMON MAINA / AFP)
Eko Hot Blog reports that a Kenyan court has officially charged the self-proclaimed pastor and leader of a starvation cult, Paul Mackenzie, along with 29 alleged accomplices, with murder in connection to the deaths of nearly 200 people in a forest near the Indian Ocean.
Mackenzie, who was already facing charges of terrorism, manslaughter, child torture, and cruelty, is accused of inciting his followers to starve to death, purportedly to “meet Jesus.”
According to court documents obtained by AFP, on Tuesday, Mackenzie and the 29 other suspects pleaded not guilty to 191 counts of murder.
One additional suspect was found mentally unfit to stand trial and is set to return to the Malindi High Court in a month’s time.
Mackenzie, the leader of the Good News International Ministries, has consistently pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.
The arrests were made in April last year after numerous bodies were discovered in the Shakahola forest, leading to international shock and horror.
Autopsies revealed that a majority of the 429 victims had died due to starvation, while others, including children, showed signs of strangulation, beatings, or suffocation.
The case, known as the “Shakahola forest massacre,” prompted the Kenyan government to address the need for increased regulation of fringe religious denominations.
Kenya, predominantly a Christian nation, has faced challenges in regulating unscrupulous churches and cults involved in criminal activities.
Court documents describe Mackenzie’s Good News International Ministries as “an organised criminal group (which) engaged in organised criminal activities,” resulting in the deaths of hundreds of followers.
Questions have arisen regarding how Mackenzie managed to evade law enforcement despite a history of extremism and previous legal cases.
A Senate Commission of Inquiry in October reported that Mackenzie, a father of seven, had faced charges in 2017 for extreme preaching.
He was acquitted of radicalization charges in 2017 related to providing illegal school teaching, rejecting the formal educational system as not aligned with the Bible.
In 2019, Mackenzie was accused of involvement in the deaths of two children, believed to have been starved, suffocated, and buried in a shallow grave in Shakahola. He was released on bail pending trial.
Kenya, with over 4,000 registered churches in the country of 53 million people, has struggled with regulating religious institutions.
Previous attempts to enforce regulations on religious organizations have faced strong opposition, seen as threats to constitutional guarantees for the separation of church and state.
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