Lãnh đạo giáo phái ở Kenya phải đối mặt với 191 cáo buộc giết trẻ em

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A Kenyan judge (thẩm phán) on Wednesday said that a doomsday (ngày tận thế) cult (giáo phái) leader who the authorities say directed his followers to starve themselves must undergo (trải qua) a mental (tâm thần) health evaluation (đánh giá) before prosecutors formally charge him with the murders of 191 children.

The charges relate to the discovery last April of mass graves in the Shakahola Forest of southeastern Kenya, where hundreds of people had come to follow the teachings of the cult leader, Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, a former taxi driver turned televangelist (nhà truyền giáo). Mr. Mackenzie had marketed (tiếp thị) Shakahola to his followers as an evangelical (truyền giáo) Christian sanctuary from what he claimed was the fast-approaching (đến nhanh) apocalypse. The Kenyan authorities say that he told members of his church to starve themselves to death to meet Jesus; more than 400 bodies were exhumed (khai quật) from the forest.

Mr. Mackenzie — who has denied the allegations (cáo buộc) — appeared in court on Wednesday in the Kenyan coastal (ven biển) city of Malindi. The judge, Mugure Thande, gave prosecutors until Feb. 6 to make sure that he and his co-defendants (đồng phạm) are fit to stand trial (hầu tòa).

The prosecutor’s office shared with journalists a list of charges that it intends to bring against Mr. Mackenzie and 30 of his followers, including 191 counts of child murder.

source: nytimes,