The Kenyan prosecution plans to press charges against a suspected cult leader and multiple other suspects for murder and terrorism in connection with the deaths of over 400 of his followers. This comes after a court warned that the leader may have to be released.
The pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, who refers to himself as a pastor, has been accused of encouraging his followers to purposely starve themselves to death in order to “reach Jesus.” This shocking incident gained worldwide attention.
In April of last year, Mackenzie was taken into custody after corpses were found in a wooded area near the coast of the Indian Ocean. His detention before his trial has been prolonged multiple times due to ongoing investigations.
“After careful examination of the evidence, the director of public prosecutions has determined that there is enough evidence to charge 95 individuals,” stated the DPP’s office.
Following a court order to either prosecute or release a former taxi driver within 14 days, authorities have taken action by pressing 10 charges, including murder, manslaughter, and terrorism, against the accused individual, Mackenzie, and his alleged accomplice. Additionally, prosecutors have stated that the two will also be charged with “subjecting a child to torture.”
The exact date of the 95 suspects’ court appearance is unknown, but prosecutors have promised to handle the cases quickly.
Autopsies have revealed the majority of the victims died of hunger. But others, including children, appear to have been strangled, beaten or suffocated. To date, 429 bodies have been located. The grim discoveries, in what has been referred to as the “Shakahola forest massacre”, prompted the government to raise the need for tighter controls on fringe denominations.
Kenya has a history of self-declared pastors and movements. A senate commission of inquiry reported in October that Mackenzie had faced charges back in 2017 for his extreme preaching. “[But] the criminal justice system failed to deter the heinous activities of Paul Mackenzie in Shakahola,” it said.
In 2017, he was cleared of allegations of promoting radical beliefs by unlawfully teaching in a school. He refused to abide by the formal education system, arguing that it did not align with his interpretation of the Bible. In 2019, he faced additional accusations of being involved in the death of two children who were reportedly deprived of food, suffocated, and buried in a shallow grave in Shakahola forest. He was granted bail while awaiting trial.
Kenya, a predominantly Christian country, has faced challenges in controlling dishonest churches and cults that engage in illegal activities. According to official records, there are over 4,000 registered churches in the East African nation with a population of 53 million.
Source: theguardian.com
