On Tuesday, a Kenyan court ordered police to imprison the cult leader accused of starving his followers to death until a hearing on Friday. In the woods, 101 bodies have already been discovered.
Kenyan officials say, members of the Good News International Church, headed by Paul Mackenzie, 50, committed mass suicide after he foretold the end of the world on April 15 and urged his followers to follow suit.
There were 101 children discovered in mass graves, and eight were discovered alive but perished. The Interior Ministry claims that around 400 persons are missing.
Mackenzie, who is being held by police, has not responded to his claims or pled guilty. His attorneys have refused to comment.
Mackenzie appeared in court with 17 other accused in Malindi, a popular tourist destination. Their case was transferred to Mombasa, where prosecutors requested that all suspects be detained for 90 days while investigations were carried out.
Citizen Television showed Mackenzie in court in Malindi, roughly an hour and a half from the mass graves in Shakahola woods, before his case was shifted to Mombasa.
He and eight other cult members were dressed in pink.
According to Elisha Komora, one of Mackenzie’s attorneys, police escorted him to his gated church in Furunzi, Malindi town, on Monday. A search warrant has been issued by the court.
Residents were enraged and flung rocks at the fortified enclosure, which was surrounded by a tall wall and barbed wire. Komora said that police used tear gas to disperse the crowd after dismantling the front half of the barricade.
Mackenzie is charged with more offenses, but no mass grave charge sheet has been issued.
Mackenzie has been detained many times in Kenya since 2017 for child maltreatment and radicalization. It reported that he was acquitted of certain crimes but not others for unknown reasons.
The government’s chief pathologist reported 10 autopsies on Monday—one adult and nine kids. The majority of the youngsters were malnourished, and two were asphyxiated.
