NAIROBI: A cult leader in Kenya went on trial on Monday for manslaughter over the deaths of more than 400 of his followers.
Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie and dozens of other suspects pleaded not guilty in the case pertaining to multiple counts of manslaughter.
Mackenzie appeared in a court of magistrate in Mombasa along with more than 90 other suspects, said prosecutors and court officials.
“There has never been a manslaughter case like this in Kenya,” prosecutor Alexander Jami Yamina said. “This is going to be a very unique manslaughter case,” he added.
Mackenzie is alleged to have asked his followers to starve to death in order to “meet Jesus” in a case that sparked horror in Kenya and across the world.
The leader of a Kenyan starvation sect was arrested in April last year after several bodies were first found in the remote Shakahola forest. After months of searching the rescuers have now unearthed around 448 bodies from mass graves.
According to autopsies, the majority of victims had died of hunger. But others, including children, appeared to have been beaten, strangled or suffocated.
The hearing of the case is scheduled to run for four days until Thursday and the prosecutors have prepared at least 420 witnesses to appear in the court.
“Due to the gravity of the case, we have prepared well,” Yamina said. Some of the witnesses will record their testimonies on camera.
In March this year, the authorities started releasing some victims’ bodies to their relatives after months of work to identify them using DNA.
A commission formed by President William Ruto to investigate the deaths presented its report last month.
Kenyan senate and a state-funded human rights watchdog in separate reports said the authorities could have prevented the deaths.
