Kenyan cult leader convicted in deaths of 191

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 19 Oct, 18:32 · Archive

A Kenyan court has convicted doomsday cult leader Paul Mackenzie and about 30 others of murdering 190 children and one adult.

A Kenyan court has convicted doomsday cult leader Paul Mackenzie and approximately 30 others of murdering 190 children and one adult in what prosecutors describe as one of the world's worst cult-related disasters in recent history. The bodies were discovered in shallow graves in the Shakahola Forest near the coast in southeastern Kenya following Mackenzie's arrest in 2023 after police received a tip-off. In total, more than 400 bodies have been recovered from the forest, though many were severely decomposed with only 26 able to be identified. The judgment covered 191 deaths while investigations into the remaining deaths continue.

Prosecutors alleged that Mackenzie and his Good News International Church organised a Christian doomsday sect in which they ordered followers to starve themselves and their children to death to go to heaven before the world ended. Justice Diana Kavedza Mochache noted in a hearing lasting more than eight hours that in some cases children were isolated and denied food whilst their parents watched. Mackenzie denied the murder charges, claiming he did not force victims to starve, but the court rejected this argument.

Mackenzie will be sentenced alongside his co-accused on 6 November. He appeared in court sitting alongside his wife, who is one of the co-accused. Family members of those who died in the forest attended the judgment at Mombasa High Court.

How it is being reported

• Kenya starvation cult leader convicted in deaths of 191A Kenyan doomsday cult leader has been convicted of murdering 190 children and one adult.The West Australian · 19 Oct, 18:20
• Kenya starvation cult leader convicted in deaths of 191A Kenyan doomsday cult leader has been convicted of murdering 190 children and one adult.Perth Now · 19 Oct, 18:20

In this story: Paul Mackenzie · Good News International Church · Shakahola Forest · Kenya · Mombasa High Court

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