On Tuesday, the Malindi High Court charged the leader of a Kenyan Christian cult, Paul Ntenga Mackenzie, and 29 other suspects with the murder of 191 children. This was reported by UNN with reference to CNN.
Details
The bodies of the children were exhumed from the Shakahola forest in eastern Kenya last year, where McKenzie and his associates are accused of running a death cult. Authorities exhumed more than 400 bodies from the sprawling forest after a months-long search.
Mackenzie and 29 others pleaded not guilty to the charges. One suspect was found to be mentally ill and will not stand trial.
Mackenzie faces several other charges, including terrorism, manslaughter and child abuse. His trial will begin on March 7.
Mackenzie, who ran the International Church of the Good News, is accused of leading a doomsday cult in which he taught his massive following to starve themselves and their children so that they could go to heaven.
Investigators claim that the cult was preparing for the end of the world on Mackenzie's instructions. He has remained in custody since April last year as investigators combed the woods for months in search of evidence.
Autopsy results showed that many of the bodies found had died of starvation, while others showed signs of blunt force trauma and strangulation.
Last month, the court threatened to release Mackenzie if the prosecutor did not file charges against him. Prosecutors said that the process of identifying victims through DNA could take a long time due to the severe decomposition of most bodies.
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