Kenyan authorities should have prevented cult deaths, president says

FILE PHOTO: Paul Mackenzie, 50, a Kenyan cult leader accused of ordering his followers, who were members of the Good News International Church, to starve themselves to death in Shakahola forest, talks to a man from a steel-grilled dock at the Shanzu Law Courts, in Mombasa, Kenya May 10, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenyan government agencies should have been able to prevent the deaths by starvation of more than 200 members of a cult in the country's coastal region, said President William Ruto, adding he took responsibility for the disaster.

Authorities accuse Paul Mackenzie, leader of the Good News International Church, of ordering his followers to starve themselves and their children to death so they could go to heaven before the end of the world.