Judgement day for Kenya pastor wey chop accuse say e order parents to starve dia children to death

One Kenyan court don ready to deliver judgement for one mass murder case wey involve doomsday preacher Paul Mackenzie.

Mackenzie and 29 of im followers chop accuse for di murder of 191 children.

Im cult chop accuse say dem force children to starve to death so dem go fit "meet Jesus". Im doomsday doctrine say education bin dey forbidden and modern medicine bin dey considered "evil".

Mackenzie and di 29 odas don plead not guilty to murder, and dem repeatedly insist say dem no force anybodi to kpai.

Mackenzie former head of security, Enos Amanya Ngala, bin initially chop accuse but e enta plea deal and become witness for di prosecution.

Mackenzie and oda leaders of di cult dey face a raft of oda legal cases, including for terrorism, extreme religious beliv and say e dey deny education to children.

But dis na di first time di pastor go face a verdict on di most serious charges of murder.

Authorities say dem find 400 bodies for shallow graves for Shakahola forest near di Kenyan coast, wia Mackenzie bin lead im followers from across di kontri.

Seventeen men bin dey hired from di nearby town for di horrifying task of digging up di shallow graves. Some receive payment of just $8 (£6) a day.

"Evri grave we find get at least three bodis," James, one of di gravediggers, tell di BBC. "Some of di remains na of children as young as a few weeks old."

"We once find 12 bodis of children for one line inside one grave. E bin dey massive, di bodis bin dey arranged like clothes. One on top of anoda."

Gravediggers say bodis of some of di children wey dem find, "dia hands and legs bin dey tied and dia bodis bin dey wrapped in bedsheets".

Although many of Mackenzie followers bin come from anoda area for Kenya, some of di deadibody na pipo wey di community pipo sabi sake of say di cult pipo dey go go di nearby Shakahola town for supplies and to fetch water from di River Galana wey dey pass through di town.

"We go carry pipo somtimes on our motorbikes enta forest," na wetin anoda gravedigger Salim Karisa tok.

"But dem dey plan am well and na secret wey nobody fit tok wetin dey hapun inside."

Stephen Mwiti, wey dey 48 years tok as e lose all im six children to di cult and e see "many bald women and tens of children" wey dey surround Mackenzie for im house wen im bin go confront am.

Mackenzie dey forbid make-up and hairstyles, so e bin tell women to shave dia hair or make dem leave make e scata.

Mwiti former wife na one of di pipo wey dem accuse alongside Mackenzie.

"If I bin meet Pastor Mackenzie today, one of us suppose to die," She tell di BBC.

"All six of my children die for di Shakahola forest," Mwiti tok, e look emotional as e hold photograph of im family. "I only see and bury di deadibody of my son Samuel."

"Dis little tin hia na wia all my misery start," Mwiti tok as im point to one TV wey dust don cover and cable box for im house for di coastal town of Malindi, 70km (43 miles) from Shakahola.

Na from di TV wey Mackenzie doctrine enta im house.

Di pastor bin establish Good News International Ministries for 2003. Ova di next 16 years, di church kon becom popular to draw thousands of followers wey dey attend oda branches across Kenya.

Im church bin run one television station wey dem call Times TV wey dey broadcast im sermons from im church for Malindi.

Im End Days sermon include conspiracy theories wey describe education as "evil", healthcare as "against di doctrine" and digital identity cards as "di mark of di devil".

Mackenzie son, Dan Paul Mackenzie, say im bin work as cameraman for di church. Di children go siddon for back, adults for middle, and evri oda pesin go sing worship songs for all di morning."

Di pastor go start im strong emotional sermons for afternoon, some of dem include "casting out demons".

Di main church shut down for 2019 and Paul Mackenzie bin move to Shakahola forest, wia e encourage im devotees to follow am.

Peter Shukrani, wey dey 23 years say im mother bin relocate to Shakahola wit am dat time.

Im start to go Mackenzie church wen im bin dey eight years old and im describe am as im "spiritual father", e add say "im no go fit tok any bad word about am".

Wen im bin dey for forest, Shukrani bin sick and im condition bin bad well- well becos dem ban medicine.

"My mother go throway all di medicine wey I suppose to take becos she beliv say only God fit heal me," Shukrani tok.

Dem bin describe di community as mud houses wey scata across di big forest. "We bin live quiet normal life, fasting for few days den we go chop small food," Shukrani tok.

By March 2023 wen local herders recova di first deadibody, hundreds of pipo bin don died. "We would carry pesin comot from di forest but dem go dey veri weak to di point wey dem go die for our arms," Salim Karisa, one of the gravediggers explain.

Shukrani na one of di men wey dem bin rescue from di forest for March 2023.

Im bin dey sick and im bin dey for bed for weeks until dat point, but im condition worsen becos im mother go throway all di medicine wey im need to recova.

"My mother beliv Pastor Mackenzie doctrine say medicine na evil," Shukrani tok.

"I for don die if dem bin no rescue me from Shakahola forest."

For di 298 pages wey detail di charges against am for dis current case, all di 191 victims, Mackenzie and im followers chop accuse say dem murder dia children.

Dem neva still identify some of di deadibody dem, sake of say dem don rotten well-well.

For di court documents, dem refer to many of dem as "unknown male child" and dem identify am by di location of dia grave and di date wey dem discover am.

Despite di suffering wey Mackenzie followers bin endure, men, women and children wey die sake of starvation, strangulation and some wey dem hit fit heavy objects many times bifor dem die, plus im own suffering, Shukrani beliv say Mackenzie "na good pesin wey care for me".

"Mackenzie no force anybody to fast. Pipo bin make dia choice by demsefs becos of dia beliv," Shukrani add.

"I still love am and im still be my pastor."

On di oda hand, Dan Mackenzie beliv say dem suppose find im father guilty of murder.

"Im be di leader, im be pesin wey dem bin dey look [up to]. So im be murderer of mass killing."