Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie alleged to have incited acolytes to starve to death to ‘meet Jesus’
Paul Nthenge Mackenzie at the courts in Mombasa in January.The leader of a Kenyan doomsday cult has gone on trial on charges of terrorism over the deaths of more than 400 of his followers in a macabre case that shocked the world.
Journalists were removed from the courtroom shortly after the start of the hearing to enable a protected witness to take the stand., is alleged to have incited his acolytes to starve to death in order to “meet Jesus”.They also face charges of murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, and child torture and cruelty in separate cases.
Autopsies have found that while starvation appeared to be the main cause of death, some of the victims – including children – were strangled, beaten or suffocated.Mackenzie, a former taxi driver, turned himself in on 14 April last year after police acting on a tipoff first entered Shakahola forest, where mass graves have been found.
Questions have been raised about how Mackenzie, a self-styled pastor with a history of extremism, managed to evade law enforcement despite his prominent profile and previous legal cases.
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