Shining Light
JF-Expert Member
- Jan 8, 2024
- 214
- 288
Nairobi, Kenya.
Mnamo Aprili mwaka jana, kiongozi wa kundi la dini nchini Kenya, Paul Mackenzie, alikamatwa baada ya zaidi ya watu 400 kugunduliwa wamekufa na miili yao kuzikwa kwenye makaburi ya pamoja. Jaji ameamuru Mackenzie afanyiwe uchunguzi wa afya ya akili kabla ya kushtakiwa. Wengi wa waathiriwa walionyesha dalili za kukosa chakula, na baadhi yao, ikiwa ni pamoja na watoto, wanaweza kuwa wamefanyiwa unyanyasaji.
Mackenzie, ambaye anadaiwa kuwa kiongozi wa kundi la mwisho wa dunia, amekana kuhusika na vifo hivyo. Upande wa mashtaka umetangaza nia ya kumshtaki yeye na washukiwa wengine 94 kwa mashtaka ya mauaji, kusababisha kifo kwa uzembe, ugaidi, na mateso. Siku ya Jumatano, mahakama iliiomba muda zaidi ili kufanya uchunguzi wa kiafya wa Mackenzie na washukiwa wengine 30 ili kubaini ikiwa wanaweza kusimama kizimbani.
Jaji Mugure Thande alikubali ombi hilo na kuwapa upande wa mashtaka siku 14 kufanya tathmini hizo. Kusikilizwa kwa kesi hiyo itaendelea tarehe 6 Februari. Wananchi wamekuwa wakiuliza kwa nini kesi hii imekuwa ikisonga polepole tangu kugunduliwa kwa idadi kubwa ya miili. Inasemekana Mackenzie aliwahimiza waumini wa Kanisa lake la Kimataifa la Habari Njema kuhamia eneo la Shakahola na kujiandaa kwa mwisho wa dunia.
Ingawa Mackenzie amekanusha kuhusika na vifo hivyo na kusema kuwa alifunga kanisa lake mwaka 2019, mwezi wa Novemba uliopita alihukumiwa kifungo cha miezi 12 gerezani kwa kuzalisha na kusambaza filamu bila kibali. Mawakili wake wamesema watapinga uamuzi huo. Yeye na washukiwa wengine pia wanakabiliwa na mashtaka ya ugaidi katika kesi inayosikilizwa katika kaunti jirani ya pwani ya Mombasa.
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A cult leader arrested in Kenya over 400 deaths must undergo mental health checks before being charged, a judge has said.
Paul Mackenzie was detained in April last year after hundreds of bodies were found in mass graves.
Most showed signs of starvation, but some - children among them - may have been assaulted.
Mackenzie, a self-proclaimed pastor accused of leading a doomsday cult, has denied responsibility for the deaths.
Prosecutors have said they will charge him and 94 others with murder, manslaughter, terrorism and torture.
But on Wednesday, they asked a court in the coastal town of Malindi for more time in order to determine if MacKenzie and 30 other suspects are mentally fit to stand trial.
Justice Mugure Thande granted this request, giving the prosecution 14 days to perform the evaluations.
The suspects were handcuffed in pairs at Wednesday's hearing, apart from Mackenzie, who was on his own.
The hearing will resume on 6 February.
In a case that stunned not only Kenyans but people across the world, the bodies of 429 people, including children, were dug up from grave sites in Shakahola, a remote forest about two hours' drive west of Malindi in April 2023.
Some Kenyans are wondering why the case has been moving so slowly after the discovery of so many bodies.
Mackenzie is alleged to have encouraged members of his Good News International Church to move there and prepare for the end of the world.
One witness told the BBC that people were given instructions in January last year to begin fasting so that they could "get to heaven".
But Mackenzie has said the deaths could not be blamed on him as he closed his church in 2019.
He was sentenced last November to 12 months in prison for producing and distributing films without a licence.
His lawyer said he would appeal against the ruling.
He and his co-accused also face terrorism charges in a case being heard in the neighbouring coastal county of Mombasa.
Source: BBC
Mnamo Aprili mwaka jana, kiongozi wa kundi la dini nchini Kenya, Paul Mackenzie, alikamatwa baada ya zaidi ya watu 400 kugunduliwa wamekufa na miili yao kuzikwa kwenye makaburi ya pamoja. Jaji ameamuru Mackenzie afanyiwe uchunguzi wa afya ya akili kabla ya kushtakiwa. Wengi wa waathiriwa walionyesha dalili za kukosa chakula, na baadhi yao, ikiwa ni pamoja na watoto, wanaweza kuwa wamefanyiwa unyanyasaji.
Mackenzie, ambaye anadaiwa kuwa kiongozi wa kundi la mwisho wa dunia, amekana kuhusika na vifo hivyo. Upande wa mashtaka umetangaza nia ya kumshtaki yeye na washukiwa wengine 94 kwa mashtaka ya mauaji, kusababisha kifo kwa uzembe, ugaidi, na mateso. Siku ya Jumatano, mahakama iliiomba muda zaidi ili kufanya uchunguzi wa kiafya wa Mackenzie na washukiwa wengine 30 ili kubaini ikiwa wanaweza kusimama kizimbani.
Jaji Mugure Thande alikubali ombi hilo na kuwapa upande wa mashtaka siku 14 kufanya tathmini hizo. Kusikilizwa kwa kesi hiyo itaendelea tarehe 6 Februari. Wananchi wamekuwa wakiuliza kwa nini kesi hii imekuwa ikisonga polepole tangu kugunduliwa kwa idadi kubwa ya miili. Inasemekana Mackenzie aliwahimiza waumini wa Kanisa lake la Kimataifa la Habari Njema kuhamia eneo la Shakahola na kujiandaa kwa mwisho wa dunia.
Ingawa Mackenzie amekanusha kuhusika na vifo hivyo na kusema kuwa alifunga kanisa lake mwaka 2019, mwezi wa Novemba uliopita alihukumiwa kifungo cha miezi 12 gerezani kwa kuzalisha na kusambaza filamu bila kibali. Mawakili wake wamesema watapinga uamuzi huo. Yeye na washukiwa wengine pia wanakabiliwa na mashtaka ya ugaidi katika kesi inayosikilizwa katika kaunti jirani ya pwani ya Mombasa.
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Paul Mackenzie: Kenya starvation cult leader to undergo mental health checks
A cult leader arrested in Kenya over 400 deaths must undergo mental health checks before being charged, a judge has said.
Paul Mackenzie was detained in April last year after hundreds of bodies were found in mass graves.
Most showed signs of starvation, but some - children among them - may have been assaulted.
Mackenzie, a self-proclaimed pastor accused of leading a doomsday cult, has denied responsibility for the deaths.
Prosecutors have said they will charge him and 94 others with murder, manslaughter, terrorism and torture.
But on Wednesday, they asked a court in the coastal town of Malindi for more time in order to determine if MacKenzie and 30 other suspects are mentally fit to stand trial.
Justice Mugure Thande granted this request, giving the prosecution 14 days to perform the evaluations.
The suspects were handcuffed in pairs at Wednesday's hearing, apart from Mackenzie, who was on his own.
The hearing will resume on 6 February.
In a case that stunned not only Kenyans but people across the world, the bodies of 429 people, including children, were dug up from grave sites in Shakahola, a remote forest about two hours' drive west of Malindi in April 2023.
Some Kenyans are wondering why the case has been moving so slowly after the discovery of so many bodies.
Mackenzie is alleged to have encouraged members of his Good News International Church to move there and prepare for the end of the world.
One witness told the BBC that people were given instructions in January last year to begin fasting so that they could "get to heaven".
But Mackenzie has said the deaths could not be blamed on him as he closed his church in 2019.
He was sentenced last November to 12 months in prison for producing and distributing films without a licence.
His lawyer said he would appeal against the ruling.
He and his co-accused also face terrorism charges in a case being heard in the neighbouring coastal county of Mombasa.
Source: BBC
