IN a tragic turn of events, a Kenyan man accused of being involved in the deaths of hundreds of members of a starvation cult has di
ed after a 10-day hunger strike while in police custody. The prosecut
or confirmed the news on Wednesday, revealing that Joseph Buyuka had passed away. Buyuka was among the 30 individuals, including self-proclaimed pastor Paul Mackenzie of Good News International Church, who were held in custody in connection with the deaths of 337 followers of the church.
According to court papers, Buyuka and four others arrested alongside him were believed to have played significant roles in the offences leading to the deaths and illegal disposal of bodies in the Shakahola forest in southeast Kenya. Since April, authorities have been exhuming the bodies from the forest.
Jami Yamina, senior prosecution counsel, informed the court in Mombasa that Buyuka had died two days ago at a hospital in Malindi, about 116 km (72 miles) away from Mombasa, where he had been transferred from a nearby prison. ‘He died … due to complications from hunger strike and starvation, but we will await the postmortem report
,’ Yamina said. Additionally, two other suspects have fallen ill, with police suspecting their condition is related to the hunger strike.
Pastor Paul Mackenzie stands accused of instructing his followers to starve themselves and their children to death, as part of a belief that they would reach heaven before the world’s end. He surrendered to the police in April and was denied bail last month. The remaining suspects were arrested subsequently during the ongoing exhumations. As of now, none of the accused individuals have entered a plea.
In May, Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki expressed concern about some of Mackenzie’s rescued followers refusing to eat. At that time, one individual had already lost their life due to starvation, highlighting the grave consequences of the cult’s actions.
The circumstances surrounding the deaths and the extent of the involvement of each accused individual will continue to be investigated as the case unfol
ds.
