Who is cult leader Paul Mackenzie, accused of convincing followers to die?

Before that, he was a taxi driver in Nairobi.The church drew thousands of followers across its many branches in Kenya, with devotees also following Mackenzie’s fiery sermons broadcast on the church television station, Times TV.He reportedly convinced followers he could speak to God.

Some of them are believed to have sold off property to donate to the church.Mackenzie preached doomsday conspiracy theories of education as being “evil”, with children forbidden from attending school.

He banned his followers from using medication because it was against religious “doctrine” and encouraged followers to burn birth certificates and digital IDs.

His preaching was also anti-Western, including condemnation of the United States, the United Nations and even the Catholic Church.Authorities began to scrutinise Mackenzie’s establishment in the late 2010s.After his church and TV station were forced to shut down in 2019, he moved to the Shakahola forest in Kilifi County, about 70 kilometres (43.4 miles) from Malindi.

Some of his devotees relocated with him to live in mud houses in the vast forest.In 2023, authorities were tipped off by a man whose wife and daughter had also relocated to the remote forest.Police investigations led to shallow mass graves in the forest linked to the cult group.

Authorities also found dozens of other emaciated surviving members in the forest.

Some told police that Mackenzie had ordered them to starve themselves until they “meet Jesus”.Most of the bodies exhumed were of children.

Some of the victims also died of strangulation or blunt trauma, authorities said, adding that some people who tried to leave the cult were attacked.

Others were found with their hands and legs bound together.A total of 429 deaths were reported, including many others who later died in hospital.

Hundreds are still declared missing.Mackenzie is not believed to have starved himself.

Survivors said that according to his orders, children were to starve themselves, followed by unmarried women, men, and last of all, church leaders.Authorities accused Mackenzie of instigating a mass starvation campaign that led to the deaths.

In January 2024, Mackenzie was charged with 191 counts of murder and his church was proscribed as an “organised criminal group”.Mackenzie, along with 34 others, including other leaders of the church, were arrested and charged with murder and terrorism-related offences.Enos Amanya Ngala, Mackenzie’s former head of security, was one of the accused, but he entered a guilty plea deal and agreed to stand as a witness for the prosecution.At a….

Mackenzie and his colleagues pleaded not guilty to the crimes.Officials also initially arraigned 65 rescued victims on charges of attempted suicide, which carries a two-year sentence in Kenya.