A doomsday cult leader in Kenya has been charged with the murders of 191 children after their bodies were found in the forest where his church was based.
Paul Mackenzie allegedly told his followers to starve themselves to death so they would meet Jesus Christ before the world ends.
The children were among 429 bodies that were found over the course of months of exhumations across tens of thousands of acres of the Shakahola Forest in the coastal county of Kilifi.
The exhumations began after the first bodies were discovered in April 2023 – with the number that was eventually found making the case one of the worst cult-related tragedies in recent history.
Mackenzie appeared at Kenya’s High Court on Wednesday alongside 30 of his followers who are also charged with murder in relation to the children.
None of the defendants entered a plea because Judge Mugure Thande granted a request from prosecutors that they undergo mental health assessments before returning to court on 6 February.
The remains of 180 of the 191 dead children have not been identified, according to the prosecution’s charge sheet.
Mackenzie allegedly encouraged members of his Good News International Church to move to Shakahola Forest to prepare for the end of the world.
Many of the 429 members who died are believed to have starved themselves because he instructed them to do so.
Autopsies showed others died from strangulation or suffocation.
The bodies were discovered in dozens of shallow graves on an 800-acre (320-hectare) ranch in the forest where the church was based.
A senate committee report in Kenya said Mackenzie chose the area due to its remoteness.
“Once inside the villages established by Mackenzie, followers were not allowed to leave the area, nor interact within themselves,” the report said.
“The followers were required to destroy vital documents, among them national identity cards, birth certificates, certificates of title to property, academic certificates and marriage certificates,” creating problems in identifying the dead, the report said.
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Police carrying the exhumed body of a victim. Pic: AP
Officers stand near where bodies are being exhumed. Pic: AP
The graves were found after police rescued 15 emaciated church members who told investigators that Mackenzie had instructed them to fast to death before the world ends.
Four of the 15 died after they were taken to a hospital.
Kenya’s top prosecutor said on Monday that 95 people will be charged with murder, cruelty, child torture and other crimes in relation to the hundreds of deaths.
In the months after the arrest of the defendants in April 2023, prosecutors asked a court in Kilifi for permission to keep holding them while the investigation continues.
But last week, Principal Magistrate Yousuf Shikanda declined their latest request to hold the suspects for an additional 60 days, saying the prosecutors had been given enough time to complete the investigation.
Mackenzie is serving a separate one-year prison sentence after being found guilty of operating a film studio and producing movies for his preaching without a valid license.
