An alleged Kenyan cult leader has pleaded not guilty to encouraging more than 400 followers to commit suicide. Paul Mackenzie, a self-described pastor, appeared in court in Mombasa with 94 other defendants on manslaughter charges after authorities uncovered a mass grave in April containing 429 dead bodies. Children were among the dead, and medical examinations suggested they had starved to death and suffered physical assault.
Prosecutor Alexander Jami Yamina described the case as “unique” and said, “There has never been a manslaughter case like this in Kenya.” He told reporters that the jury would hear from more than 400 witnesses and that the suspects would also face prosecution under new suicide pact legislation.
The tragedy was known in Kenya as the “Shakahola Forest Massacre.” According to the charges filed against Mackenzie, he told his followers that they would reach heaven sooner if they starved themselves to death. Survivors and witnesses told law enforcement that children were encouraged to die first, with church leaders last in line. Only 34 of the hundreds of bodies have yet been formally identified.
Mr. Mackenzie established the Good News International Church in 2003 but closed it in 2019, saying it was time to prepare for the end of the world. He then allegedly moved hundreds of his congregants to the remote Shakahola Forest, with horrifying results.
Questions are now being asked in Kenya regarding how Mackenzie managed to evade the law, given his background of legal run-ins and a history of religious extremism. A report from the Kenyan Senate insists that the deaths could have been prevented if authorities had acted sooner. Some political figures are calling for tighter restrictions on fringe denominations, but legal experts say that Constitutional guarantees of the separation of church and state would make such a move difficult.
The case is reminiscent of the notorious Jonestown massacre of 1978 when American preacher Jim Jones from San Francisco promised his followers they would live in a glorious utopia if they helped him establish a secluded community in Guyana. He ultimately persuaded his devotees to poison themselves with cyanide, and more than 900 people died.
