Doomsday Cult Suspects in Kenya to Be Hospitalized Following Hunger Strike

A Kenyan magistrate has ordered the main suspect in a doomsday starvation cult, Paul Mackenzie, and 94 of his followers to receive emergency medical care after appearing too frail and weak to answer manslaughter charges in court. Chief Magistrate Alex Ithuku directed Mackenzie, his wife Rhoda Maweu, and others charged with 238 counts of manslaughter to be escorted to the hospital for immediate medical examination.

The suspects, visibly emaciated, pleaded not guilty to all counts, which were read out over four and a half hours. Mackenzie, the leader of the doomsday cult, and his followers are blamed for the deaths of 429 members of the Good News International Church, who are believed to have starved themselves in the hope of meeting Jesus Christ before the world ends. The deaths occurred between January 2021 and September 2023 in the Shakahola area in Malindi Sub-County within Kilifi County, according to prosecutors.

Ithuku, after visiting the suspects in the court’s basement cells, noted that some could barely stand or open their eyes, prompting the order for immediate medical treatment.

Earlier this month, Mackenzie and 94 of his followers were charged with murdering 191 children, of whom only 11 have been identified, according to the prosecution charge sheet. The bodies were found in shallow graves on an 800-acre ranch in the remote Shakahola Forest in the coastal county of Kilifi. The discovery was made after police rescued 15 emaciated church members who revealed that Mackenzie had allegedly instructed them to fast to death before the world ended. Four of the 15 died after being taken to a hospital. Autopsies on some of the bodies in the graves indicated causes of death as starvation, strangulation, or suffocation.

Kenya’s chief government pathologist, Dr. Johansen Oduor, announced that the government would resume the search for and recovery of more bodies from the Shakahola Forest in March. The exercise had been paused for autopsies and DNA analysis on the 429 bodies already recovered.

This shocking case highlights the tragic consequences of a doomsday cult, where followers, under the influence of their leader, engage in extreme and fatal practices based on their apocalyptic beliefs. The legal proceedings aim to hold the cult leader and his followers accountable for the deaths within their community, shedding light on the dangerous impact of extremist ideologies. The court’s directive for immediate medical care also underscores the humanitarian aspect, recognizing the severe physical condition of the suspects during the legal proceedings.