Kenya cult leader charged with terrorism-related crimes in starvation deaths

Paul Mackenzie, 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, is escorted to the Malindi Law Courts in Malindi, Kilifi, Kenya January 17, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer/ File Photo

MOMBASA, Kenya (Reuters) - Kenyan cult leader Paul Mackenzie and 94 others were charged on Thursday with terrorism-related crimes related to the deaths of 429 of his followers whose bodies have been exhumed from the Shakahola forest.

The charges, announced during an appearance before a court in the southeastern city of Mombasa, are the first to be brought against Mackenzie, who was arrested last April after the bodies started to be discovered.