Alleged Kenyan cult leader and suspects to face charges, prosecutor says

Alleged Kenyan Christian cult leader Paul Mackenzie and 94 other suspects will face 10 charges for their involvement in a deadly cult, according to a statement from the office of the director of public prosecutions on Tuesday.

The suspects will be charged with murder, manslaughter, and assault causing bodily harm, the statement listed. They will also be charged with engaging in organized criminal activity, radicalization, facilitating the commission of a terrorist act, and possession of an article connected with an offense under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2012.

Mackenzie has been held in custody since last April as investigators combed the isolated Shakahola forest for evidence.

He and his associates are accused of leading one of the worst mass suicides in recent history. At least 429 bodies were recovered from the forest in eastern Kenya where Mackenzie and his followers were living.

Many of the recovered bodies had died from starvation while others had signs of blunt trauma and strangulation, autopsy results showed.

Investigators said many of the victims were children. The suspects will face charges of subjecting a child to torture, cruelty to a child, and infringing a child’s right to education.

All 95 suspects will be formally charged in court in the town of Malindi on Wednesday.

Cover photo: Suspected Kenyan cult leader Paul Mackenzie