By Ebi Kesiena
A Kenyan court on Thursday extended the detention of a cult leader accused of inciting and possibly forcing more than 400 of his followers to starve themselves to death.
Recall that self-proclaimed Pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie has been in police custody since mid-April, as investigators search for more bodies in a forest near the Indian Ocean coast.
Senior principal magistrate, Yusuf Shikanda said at a court hearing in the port city of Mombasa that Mackenzie and 29 co-accused would be held for a further 47 days pending investigations.
“The application by the state for extension of custodial orders is allowed for a further period not exceeding 47 days from 2/8/2023,” Shikanda said in a ruling seen by AFP.
The former taxi driver and founder of the Good News International Church is yet to enter a plea.
Although, state prosecutors say that once the investigations are complete, the 30 defendants will be subjected to psychiatric assessments before being charged with terrorism and other offences.
To date, 425 bodies have been discovered in the Shakahola forest, a 325-hectare (800-acre) bushland that lies inland from the Indian Ocean town of Malindi.
A fourth round of exhumations were suspended on July 19 to allow the ill-equipped morgue in Malindi to perform autopsies on 87 bodies.
However, according to autopsies carried by the government, while starvation appears to be the main cause of death, some of the victims including children were strangled, beaten or suffocated.
