By Omotosho Victor Fiyinfoluwa (SIWES Student, Federal Polytechnic Ado-Ekiti)
A Kenyan court has charged self-proclaimed pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie and 29 others with 191 counts of murder, alleging their involvement in a starvation cult responsible for nearly 200 deaths in a forest near the Indian Ocean.
Mackenzie, previously charged with terrorism, manslaughter, and child torture, pleaded not guilty. The case, known as the “Shakahola forest massacre,” has prompted calls for tighter control of fringe denominations in Kenya, which has struggled to regulate unscrupulous churches and cults engaging in criminal activities.
Mackenzie’s Good News International Ministries is described as an “organised criminal group” in court documents. Despite previous legal cases, questions persist about how Mackenzie evaded law enforcement.
