malnutrition

CHRISTIAN BREAKING NEWS: [UPDATE] Paul Mackenzie | Kenya Doomsday Cult Leader | Good News International Ministries Goes on Trial on Terrorism Charges Over Death of 400 Followers who Starved to Death to “Meet Jesus” [#PaulMackenzie]

The leader of a Kenyan doomsday cult has gone on trial on terrorism charges in connection with the deaths of over 400 of his followers in a horrific case that stunned the world.

Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, a self-proclaimed pastor, appeared in court in Mombasa, an Indian Ocean port city, alongside 94 other defendants.

Journalists were removed from the courtroom shortly after the hearing began so that a protected witness could take the stand.

Mackenzie, who was arrested in April of last year, is accused of encouraging his followers to starve themselves to death in order to “meet Jesus”.

He and his co-accused all pleaded not guilty to terrorism charges during a January hearing.

They are also charged with murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, and child torture and cruelty in separate cases.

More than 440 people’s bodies have been discovered so far in a remote wilderness inland from the Indian Ocean coastal town of Malindi, in a case known as the “Shakahola forest massacre”.

Autopsies revealed that, while malnutrition appeared to be the primary cause of death, some of the victims, including children, had been strangled, beaten, or suffocated.

Previous court records stated that some of the bodies had their organs removed.

Mackenzie, a former taxi driver, surrendered on April 14, last year, after police entered Shakahola forest on a tip-off and discovered multiple graves.

Following months of arduous work to identify victims using DNA, authorities began releasing some of their bodies to bereaved relatives in March.

Questions have been raised about how Mackenzie, a self-proclaimed pastor with a reputation of radicalism, evaded law enforcement despite his high profile and previous legal cases.

Last year, Kenyan interior minister Kithure Kindiki accused Kenyan police of being slow to investigate initial claims of starvation.

“The Shakahola massacre is the worst breach of security in the history of our country,” he told a Senate committee meeting, vowing to “relentlessly push for legal reforms to tame rogue preachers”.

In March, the state-backed Kenya National Commission on Human Rights criticized Malindi security forces for “gross abdication of duty and negligence.”

The president, William Ruto, has pledged to intervene in Kenya’s domestic religious movements.

The scandal has brought to light unsuccessful efforts to oversee unethical churches and cults that have engaged in criminal activity in Kenya, a predominantly Christian country.

NEWS SOURCE & LINKS:
The Guardian

Paul Mackenzie, Kenya Doomsday Cult Leader | GOES ON TRIAL TERRORISM CHARGES DEATH OF 400 FOLLOWERS | Christian Breaking News!