Doomsday cult leader and 30 followers in Kenyan court

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(17 Jan 2024) • RESTRICTION SUMMARY: • • ASSOCIATED PRESS • Malinda, Kenya - 17 January 2024 • 1. Wide showing 37 suspects of Shakahola massacre entering the dock • 2. Suspected cult leader Paul Mackenzie entering the dock • 3. More suspects being ushered into court • 4. Various of suspects in the dock • 5. Various of law enforcement uncuffing the suspects seated in the dock • 6. Pan across courtroom • 7. SOUNDBITE (English) Mugure Thande, Judge at Malindi Law Courts: • I direct that, one: all accused persons do undergo psychiatric assessment to ascertain their fitness to take plea; two: medical attention and care to be availed to the fourth accused person and any other accused person who is unwell at the prison in which they are held; three: application for bond is deferred until all accused persons have taken plea and finally, mention on the 6th of February 2024. • 8. Various of accused persons in the dock • 9. Mackenzie leaving the courtroom • 10. Exterior of Malindi Law Courts • • • • • STORYLINE: • Doomsday cult leader Paul Mackenzie and 30 of his followers must undergo mental health checks before returning to court to face charges of murdering 191 children, a judge said Wednesday.. • • Mackenzie and his followers were brought to a Kenyan court in the coastal town of Malindi. • • They did not enter pleas because High Court Judge Mugure Thande granted a request from prosecutors that they undergo mental assessments and return to court on 6 February. • • Mackenzie was detained in April last year after hundreds of bodies were found in mass graves. • • Most showed signs of starvation, but some - including children - may have been assaulted. • • Mackenzie, a self-proclaimed pastor accused of leading a doomsday cult, has denied responsibility for the deaths. • • Mackenzie and the other suspects did not enter pleas because High Court Judge Mugure Thande granted a request from prosecutors that they undergo mental assessments and return to court on Feb. 6. • • The remains of 180 of the 191 dead children have not been identified, according to the prosecution's charge sheet. • • Mackenzie and some of his followers have been blamed for the deaths of 429 members of his Good News International Church, many of whom are believed to have starved themselves in the belief that by doing so they would meet Jesus Christ before the world ends. • • The bodies were discovered in dozens of shallow graves on an 800-acre (320-hectare) ranch in a remote area known as Shakahola Forest in the coastal county of Kilifi. • • The graves were found after police rescued 15 emaciated church members who told investigators that Mackenzie had instructed them to fast to death before the world ends. Four of the 15 died after they were taken to a hospital. • • Autopsies on some of the bodies found in the graves showed they died from starvation, strangulation or suffocation. • • Kenya's top prosecutor said on Monday that 95 people will be charged with murder, cruelty, child torture and other crimes. • • Mackenzie is serving a separate one-year prison sentence after being found guilty of operating a film studio and producing movies for his preaching without a valid license. • • Mackenzie allegedly encouraged church members to move to Shakahola Forest to prepare for the end of the world. • • A Senate committee report said Mackenzie chose the area due to its remoteness. • • “Once inside the villages established by Mackenzie, followers were not allowed to leave the area, nor interact within themselves,” the report said. • • • AP Video by Jackson Njehia • • =========================================================== • • • Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork • Twitter: / ap_archive • Facebook: / aparchives • Instagram: / apnews • • • You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...

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