The leader of a Kenyan doomsday cult, Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, on Monday faced trial on terrorism charges connected to the deaths of over 400 of his followers—a case that has deeply unsettled Kenya and the global community.
Mackenzie, a self-identified pastor, appeared in the Mombasa court alongside 94 co-defendants.
Soon after the trial began, journalists were asked to leave the courtroom to accommodate the testimony of a protected witness.
Mackenzie, who was detained in April of the previous year, is accused of persuading his followers to starve themselves to death to “meet Jesus.”
In a January hearing, Mackenzie and his co-defendants pleaded not guilty to terrorism charges.
They also face multiple charges including murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, and child torture and cruelty in separate cases.
The remains of over 440 individuals have been discovered in a secluded area near Malindi, on the Indian Ocean coast, in what has been termed the “Shakahola forest massacre.”
Autopsies revealed that starvation was the primary cause of death for many, but some victims, including children, had been strangled, beaten, or suffocated.
Previous court documents indicated that some bodies showed signs of organ removal.
Mackenzie, a former taxi driver, surrendered to authorities on April 14 after police, following a tip-off, first entered Shakahola forest and uncovered mass graves.
In March, authorities began returning some of the victims’ bodies to their grieving families after a thorough DNA identification process.
Concerns have been raised about how Mackenzie, a known extremist pastor, avoided law enforcement despite his high profile and past legal issues.
Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki criticized Kenyan police in 2023 for their inadequate investigation of the initial starvation reports, stating, “The Shakahola massacre is the worst breach of security in the history of our country.” He promised to “relentlessly push for legal reforms to tame rogue preachers.”
In March, the state-supported Kenya National Commission on Human Rights condemned Malindi’s security officers for their “gross abdication of duty and negligence.”
The gruesome events have prompted President William Ruto to commit to addressing Kenya’s unregulated religious movements.
In predominantly Christian Kenya, the case has highlighted the government’s failure to control fraudulent churches and cults involved in criminal activities.
Meanwhile, a UN-backed report released Friday highlights extreme violence, abuse, and exploitation faced by refugees and migrants on land routes across Africa to the Mediterranean.
It suggested that the number of deaths on these routes may exceed those at sea. Nearly 30,000 migrants have been reported dead or missing while attempting to cross the Mediterranean to Europe in the past decade, but the report from United Nations agencies and the Mixed Migration Centre indicates that the true death toll for those traveling through Africa could be even higher.
