Current:Home > FinanceKenyan court: Charge doomsday cult leader within 2 weeks or we release him on our terms-LoTradeCoin
Kenyan court: Charge doomsday cult leader within 2 weeks or we release him on our terms
View Date:2024-12-23 23:48:03
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A Kenyan court warned prosecutors Tuesday it will release under its own terms a pastor and others accused of being behind the deaths of 429 people believed to be his cult followers if they aren’t charged within two weeks.
For months since the arrests last April, prosecutors have asked the court for permission to keep holding Paul Mackenzie and 28 others while they look into the case that shocked Kenyans with the discovery of mass graves and allegations of starvation and strangulation.
But Shanzu Senior Principal Magistrate Yusuf Shikanda noted that the suspects had been detained for 117 days since the last application for an extension and it was enough time to have completed investigations.
The defense has argued that the constitutional rights for bail for Mackenzie and the others were being violated since they haven’t been charged.
The magistrate said the suspects had been detained without trial for longer than anyone in Kenya since the adoption of the country’s 2010 constitution that outlawed detention without trial.
Mackenzie is serving a separate one-year prison sentence after being found guilty of operating a film studio and producing films without a valid license.
The cult case emerged when police rescued 15 emaciated parishioners from Mackenzie’s church in Kilifi County in Kenya’s southeast. Four died after the group was taken to a hospital.
Survivors told investigators the pastor had instructed them to fast to death before the world ends so they could meet Jesus.
A search of the remote, forested area has found 429 bodies and dozens of mass graves, authorities have said. Autopsies on some bodies showed starvation, strangulation or suffocation.
veryGood! (3)
Related
- FBI offers up to $25,000 reward for information about suspect behind Northwest ballot box fires
- Negligence lawsuit filed over Google Maps after man died driving off a collapsed bridge
- EU calls on Bosnian Serb parliament to reject draft law that brands NGOs as ‘foreign agents’
- Spain women’s coach set to speak on eve of Sweden game amid month-long crisis at Spanish federation
- Utah AD Mark Harlan rips officials following loss to BYU, claims game was 'stolen from us'
- There's a lot to love in the 'Hair Love'-inspired TV series 'Young Love'
- Minnesota approves giant solar energy project near Minneapolis
- A Swedish prosecutor says a 13-year-old who was shot in the head, is a victim of a bloody gang feud
- A herniated disc is painful, debilitating. How to get relief.
- Andy Cohen’s American Horror Story: Delicate Cameo Features a Tom Sandoval Dig
Ranking
- College football top five gets overhaul as Georgia, Miami both tumble in US LBM Coaches Poll
- Zayn Malik Shares What Makes Daughter Khai Beautiful With Rare Photos on 3rd Birthday
- Former Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson says Rudy Giuliani groped her on Jan. 6, 2021
- Shakira Shares Insight Into Parenting After Breakup With Gerard Piqué
- ‘Heretic’ and Hugh Grant debut with $11 million, but ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ tops box office again
- Free COVID test kits are coming back. Here's how to get them.
- Is Lionel Messi injured or just fatigued? The latest news on Inter Miami's star
- Tim McGraw's Birthday Tribute to Best Friend Faith Hill Will Warm Your Heart
Recommendation
-
The ancient practice of tai chi is more popular than ever. Why?
-
Fox founder Rupert Murdoch steps down from global media empire
-
Kylie Jenner Accidentally Reveals Sweet Timothée Chalamet Selfie on Her Phone Lock Screen
-
Amazon's 20 Top-Rated Fashion Finds Under $20
-
Demure? Brain rot? Oxford announces shortlist for 2024 Word of the Year: Cast your vote
-
UAW strike puts spotlight on pay gap between CEOs and workers
-
Police discover bags of fentanyl beneath ‘trap floor’ of NYC day care center where 1-year-old died
-
96-year-old federal judge suspended from hearing cases after concerns about her fitness