Shakahola forest massacre: Kenya's doomsday cult

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Nairobi, Kenya | AFP

A Kenyan cult leader and dozens of co-defendants went on trial on terrorism charges on Monday over the deaths of hundreds of followers.

Here are some details about self-proclaimed pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie's doomsday starvation cult and what has been dubbed the "Shakahola forest massacre", one of the world's worst cult-related tragedies in recent decades.

What happened?

Four bodies were initially found in April last year in the vast Shakahola forest that lies inland from the Indian Ocean town of Malindi, leading to exhumations and the discovery of mass graves containing hundreds of victims.

Mackenzie, who was arrested the day after the first bodies were found, is alleged to have incited his followers to starve to death in order to "meet Jesus".

An "enforcer gang" was tasked with ensuring that no one broke their fast or left the forest hideout alive.

Autopsies have revealed the majority of the victims died of hunger. But others, including children, appear to have been strangled, beaten or suffocated.

Who is Paul Mackenzie?

A former taxi driver turned preacher, Mackenzie founded his Good News International Church in 2003, setting up branches in Nairobi and along Kenya's coast.

In 2017, he launched a YouTube channel, broadcasting videos that warned followers against "demonic" practices like wearing wigs and using mobile money.

After running afoul of the law for his apocalyptic preaching, he said he closed his church in 2019 and moved to Shakahola.

(FILES) Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie looks on as he appears at Malindi Law Courts in Malindi on February 6, 2024. (AFP)

A father of seven, he was also the "co-director of a media house that was used to deliver apocalyptic or end time sermons constituting the subject of the investigations", court documents seen by AFP said.

His year of birth is contested, with the national registration bureau telling parliament he has two records indicating he was born in 1973 and 1976.

How many bodies have been found?

To date, more than 440 bodies have been found in shallow mass graves in the forest after several phases of exhumations.

(FILES) Digged holes are seen after exhuming bodies at the mass-grave site in Shakahola, outside the coastal town of Malindi, on April 25, 2023. (AFP)

But only a small percentage of the victims have been identified through DNA profiling and returned to their families.

Sixty-seven adults and 25 children, aged between one and 17 years, were rescued.

What are the charges?

Mackenzie is being held alongside 94 other suspects, 54 men and 40 women. They have been charged with murder, manslaughter, terrorism and child abuse, and have pleaded not guilty.

The fresh hearings from Monday are due to run until July 11 and again from July 22-25, according to local media reports.

Hearings in the manslaughter case are due to start in August.

The suspects were held for nine months without charge, the longest pre-trial detention in Kenya's history since the promulgation of the country's revised 2010 constitution.

The repercussions?

Reports by a Senate committee and a state-backed Kenyan human rights watchdog have found that government officials ignored warnings that could have prevented the deaths.

All security officers who were working in the coastal region have been transferred but none has faced criminal charges.

President William Ruto set up a commission of inquiry to review regulations governing religious bodies. Its work is ongoing.

The interior ministry, which has described the cult deaths as the worst security breach in Kenya's history, has said it will convert 325 hectares (800 acres) of land in Shakahola into a memorial for the victims.