Sect leader and self-styled preacher Paul Nthenge Mackenzie appeared in court in Kenya on Tuesday. He was arrested in April 2023 after hundreds of bodies were discovered in a forest. Both Mackenzie and another 29 defendants pleaded not guilty.
Autopsies showed that the majority of the 429 victims had died of starvation. Others, including children, appeared to have been strangled, beaten or suffocated. The case became known as the ‘Shakahola Forest Massacre’ and led to the government announcing stricter laws against cults.
There are over 4,000 registered churches in Kenya, there are always self-proclaimed priests and so-called criminal communities founded by criminals. The “International Priesthoods of Good News” founded by Mackenzie are intended to be such an association.
Indictment for extreme teachings 2017
The case raised questions about how Mackenzie was able to avoid prosecution for so long. The father of seven children was already charged in 2017 for his extreme teachings, but not convicted. In 2019, an investigation was also launched into the deaths of two children who were apparently starved and then suffocated. At that time he was released on bail pending the start of the trial.
The cult leader is now accused of terrorism, manslaughter, murder and child torture and abuse (see video above). In addition to him, 29 other people are on trial; another has currently been declared unfit to stand trial and will appear before the judges in a month.
Source: Krone
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