Kenyan suspect in religious cult deaths dies in custody after hunger strike

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, and his wife Rhoda Mumbua Maweu, speak to their lawyer George Kariuki from a steel-grilled dock at the Shanzu Law Courts, in Mombasa, Kenya, May 10, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

MOMBASA, Kenya (Reuters) - A Kenyan accused of involvement in the deaths of hundreds of members of a starvation cult has died after a 10-day hunger strike in police custody, a prosecutor said on Wednesday.

Joseph Buyuka was among 30 people, including self-styled pastor Paul Mackenzie of Good News International Church, in custody over the deaths of 337 followers of the church.