Doomsday cult death toll hits 200 in Kenya, with more than 600 reported missing

Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie (C), who set up the Good News International Church in 2003 and is accused of inciting cult followers to starve to death "to meet Jesus", talks to his relatives as he appeared in the dock, at the Shanzu la NAIROBI, Kenya - The death toll linked to a doomsday cult in Kenya hit 201 Saturday after police exhumed 22 more bodies, most of them bearing signs of starvation, according to the coast regional commissioner.The bodies are believed to be those of followers of a pastor based in coastal Kenya, Paul Mackenzie.

He's alleged to have ordered congregants to starve to death in order to meet Jesus.More than 600 people are still missing.Mackenzie, who was arrested last month, remains in custody.

Police plan to charge him with terrorism-related offenses.READ MORE: Congo flooding has death toll approaching 400 as search continuesHundreds of bodies have been dug up from dozens of mass graves spread across his 800-acre property, located in the coastal county of Kilifi.Mackenzie insists that he closed his church in 2019 and moved to his property in a forested area to farm.Autopsies conducted on more than 100 bodies last week showed the victims died of starvation, strangulation, suffocation and injuries sustained from blunt objects.Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, (C) who set up the Good News International Church in 2003 and is accused of inciting cult followers to starve to death "to meet Jesus", appears at the Shanzu law courts in Mombasa on May 5, 2023. (Photo Local media outlets have been reporting cases of missing internal body organs, quoting investigators in the case.Mackenzie, his wife and 16 other suspects will appear in court at the end of the month.Coast regional.