Kenya's cult leader charged with murders of 191 children

By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) - Kenya's High Court in Malindi charged cult leader Paul Mackenzie on Tuesday with the murders of 191 children whose bodies were unearthed from the Shakahola forest.

Mackenzie and 29 other defendants rejected the charges when they faced presiding judge Lady Justice Mugure Thande.

One suspect, Evans Sirwa, was deemed mentally unfit to stand trial.

The charges stem from the discovery of more than 400 bodies in the Shakahola forest -- a site linked to the activities of the Shakahola cult, which was a church led by Mackenzie.

The cult's practices involved coercing followers of the Good News International Church into starvation with a promise of a spiritual afterlife in heaven with Jesus.

The bodies were subsequently buried in shallow graves on an 800-acre area in Shakahola where they were discovered last April.

Investigations have revealed that some of the victims were found with missing organs, fueling suspicions of a human organ trafficking syndicate within the cult.