Kenyan cult leader and 94 others charged with manslaughter

Self-styled Kenyan pastor Paul Mackenzie, his wife, and 93 other accomplices were charged with manslaughter at the Mombasa law court, on Tuesday (Jan. 23).

All pleaded not guilty to the 238 counts of manslaughter allegedly committed between January 2021 and February 2023.

A total of 429 members, including children, of Mackenzie's Good News International Church died.

The bodies were discovered in dozens of shallow graves on an 800-acre ranch in a remote area known as Shakahola Forest in the coastal county of Kilifi.

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.

Autopsies on some of the bodies found in the graves showed they died from starvation, strangulation, or suffocation.

According to local media, the Magistrate ruled Tuesday for the 95 accused to appear before the court on February 13, where he would give his judgment on bail and bond terms.