AMERIKA

Six ‘cult’ leaders convicted in scheme that forced children to work for no pay

Grace Hills, Kansas Reflector
September 18, 2024 

Photo by Santi Vedrí on Unsplash

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A federal jury convicted six leaders in a quasi-religious group in a scheme that convinced parents to send their children to Kansas City, Kansas, for schooling but instead forced them to work long hours without pay and subjected them to beatings and other abuse.

The six defendants held high-ranking positions of influence within the United Nation of Islam, which a federal judge deemed a “cult.” They pleaded not guilty but were convicted Monday in federal district court in Kansas City.

United Nation of Islam founder Royall Jenkins, who claimed to be Allah and had multiple wives, court documents show, died in 2021.

In 1996, Jenkins told local government in Kansas City that the group was moving there to create its headquarters and make it their new “heaven.” From 1998 to 2000, the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City and a public school board donated five buildings to the group for the purpose of revitalizing an area that was considered blighted and dangerous.

Instead, federal prosecutors said, the organization used fear to coerce children into working up to 16 hours a day in its storefronts, with names like, “Your Diner,” “Your Bakery” and “Your Gas Station.”

Although members could be of any age, court documents show the defendants primarily used the labor of minors, with the youngest only 8 years old. In return, they would get meager meals, sparse accommodations and crowded housing, according to court documents.

“The United Nation of Islam and these defendants held themselves out as a beacon of hope for the community, promising to educate and teach important life skills to members, particularly children,” said Kristen Clarke, of the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, in a statement. “Instead, the defendants betrayed this trust, exploiting young children in the organization by callously compelling their labor.”

Attorneys for the defendants during the 26-day trial argued their clients used their positions in the organization to try and stop Jenkins and the abuse. The federal government wanted to prosecute Jenkins, they said, but he died.

The jury convicted each defendant of conspiracy to commit forced labor. Kabba Majeed — one of two defendants who testified during the trial — also was convicted of five counts of forced labor. Majeed and other defendants, except for Dana Peach, who was one of Jenkins’ wives, were part of an executive board that had planned to shut down the United Nation of Islam after they realized Jenkins was “a fraud.”

“We tried to do a stealth breakdown, remove everything, then have Royall find out,” Majeed testified. “Our attempt was to make sure this didn’t happen again. Period.”

Ultimately, Majeed said, there was nothing they could’ve done to stop him.

“Going to the police would’ve stopped him,” said Myryam Zhuravitsky, an attorney with the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, during cross-examination.

Multiple victims testified during the trial. One woman spoke of her time at the United Nation of Islam school, where children were taught an unregulated curriculum, including that “women were not needed.” Children were humiliated and beaten regularly, she said.

“I was scared,” she said. “Hearing a little boy scream, knowing he’s defenseless.”

Kansas Reflector doesn’t identify survivors of domestic and sexual violence without their consent.

Defendants are scheduled for sentencing on Feb. 18. Majeed faces up to 20 years in prison and restitution. The other defendants face up to five years in prison: Peach, Yunus Rassoul, James Staton, Randolph Rodney Hadley, and Daniel Aubrey Jenkins.

Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com. Follow Kansas Reflector on Facebook and X.