Kenyan court convicts starvation cult leader over 191 deaths
A court in Kenya has found starvation cult leader Paul Mackenzie guilty of murder over the deaths of 191 people linked to the Shakahola case. The Mombasa Law Court said on Monday that the self-proclaimed pastor and dozens of associates were responsible for the deaths of 190 children and one adult. The verdict marks a major legal step in one of the country's most disturbing mass-death cases.
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Prosecutors said Mackenzie and his Good News International Church organised a Christian doomsday sect that instructed followers to starve themselves and their children to death. They said the group believed this would help them reach heaven before the world ended and "meet Jesus". Police arrested Mackenzie in 2023 after receiving a tip-off, and authorities later began uncovering bodies in shallow graves in the Shakahola Forest near the coast in southeastern Kenya.
Mackenzie had denied forcing victims to starve, but the court rejected that argument. The defendants had pleaded not guilty and also denied other charges, including terrorism, radicalisation and preventing children from receiving an education. The case has drawn attention because of the scale of the deaths and the number of children among the victims.
The conviction is significant because it turns a long-running criminal investigation into a formal finding of guilt in a case that has already shaken public confidence in oversight of religious groups. It also highlights the legal and social consequences of extremist teachings when they are linked to mass fatalities. For Kenya, the case remains closely watched because it involves both child deaths and allegations of organised abuse within a religious movement.
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The Shakahola deaths emerged after police action in 2023, when the first bodies were found following the tip-off that led to Mackenzie's arrest. Since then, the case has developed into a wider prosecution involving multiple defendants and several allegations beyond murder. The court's ruling suggests prosecutors have now secured a central verdict in the case, although the broader legal process has not necessarily ended.
What remains unclear from the court announcement is the full range of sentences and whether further rulings will follow for the other defendants. It is also not clear from the available details how the court will handle the remaining charges in the wider case. The next developments to watch are any sentencing decisions and whether the verdict leads to further legal action against other members of the group.
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