Joe McConnell
The leader of a Kenyan cult who allegedly encouraged more than 400 followers to starve themselves to death has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter, in one of the worst cases of cult-related mass deaths.
Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Mackenzie appeared in court on Monday in the coastal city of Mombasa along with 94 other suspects.
Mr Mackenzie was arrested last April after 429 bodies, including children, were dug up from mass graves in Shakahola, a remote forest about two hours’ drive west of the town of Malindi. Most of the bodies showed signs of starvation and assault.
“There has never been a case of manslaughter like this in Kenya,” prosecutor Alexander Jami Yamina told AFP.
The prosecution says more than 400 witnesses will be heard over the next four days.
Mr Yamina said it was a unique case in Kenya and the suspects would be prosecuted under a law relating to suicide pacts.
When the case emerged last year, Kenyans were shocked and horrified that people could willingly starve themselves to death. It became known as the “Shakahola Forest Massacre.”
Mr. Mackenzie is said to have told his followers that they would go to heaven faster if they stopped eating.
Mr Mackenzie is also facing two other trials: one on terrorism charges, which began in July, and another on child abuse charges, including torture, assault, child cruelty and breach of children’s right to an education, charges he denies.
Survivors say children were to be the first to starve, according to a grisly order drawn up by Mr Mackenzie. Then the unmarried, women, men and, lastly, church leaders.
Mr. Mackenzie founded his Good News International Church in 2003, but said he closed it in 2019.
He encouraged his followers to move to the Shakahola forest and prepare for the end of the world to “meet Jesus.”
Pastor Mackenzie is said to have owned 800 acres of remote forest, where there is no mobile network.
The forest was divided into several areas and given names of biblical places, such as Judea, Bethlehem and Nazareth.
In March this year, authorities returned the bodies of some victims to their relatives after months of identification through DNA tests. So far, 34 bodies have been returned.
Mr. Mackenzie preached that formal education was satanic and was being used to extort money.
In 2017 and again in 2018, he was arrested for encouraging children not to go to school, claiming that education was “not recognized in the Bible.”
It would also have encouraged mothers to avoid seeking medical attention during childbirth and not to vaccinate their children.
Last November, Mr Mackenzie was found guilty of illegally operating a film studio associated with his preaching and distributing films without a valid filming license and was sentenced to a year in prison.
Kenya is a deeply religious country, with 85% of the population identifying as Christian. There have been previous cases of people being lured into dangerous and unregulated churches or cults.
