8 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The trial of Paul Mackenzie, the leader of a Christian sect in Kenya, and 94 other co-defendants on terrorism charges began on Monday in a Mombasa court, which will have to determine their responsibility in the deaths of more than 400 people in a forested area of the northern city of Shakahola.
Kenya’s prosecution service said in a first hearing before Chief Magistrate Leah Juma that the sect was a well-structured and efficient entity with a sophisticated system of governance, transportation networks and security measures.
The prosecution will present numerous documentary evidence throughout the trial, while it will rely on the testimony of up to 90 witnesses. Mackenzie is being tried alongside 94 other co-defendants on a battery of charges, according to KBC.
Specifically, the list of charges includes murder, manslaughter, assault, participation in criminal activity, radicalisation, facilitating the commission of a terrorist act and possession of items connected to offences falling under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
The sect’s top leaders urged followers to fast until death under the promise that they would meet Jesus Christ in a new life. For months, authorities carried out excavations and exhumations in large areas of forest, where more than 430 bodies were found.
Kenyan President William Ruto described Mackenzie as a “terrible criminal” while his government announced it would turn the forest into a “national memorial” for the victims. Home Affairs Minister Kithure Kindiki called the massacre “the worst security breach in the country’s history.”
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