Kenyan starvation cult leader guilty of murdering 191 people

Summarised from 6 outlets · 7 reports · Updated 19 Oct, 17:29 · Archive

A Kenyan court has found Paul Mackenzie and about 30 associates guilty of murdering 190 children and one adult.

A court in Mombasa, Kenya convicted cult leader Paul Mackenzie and approximately 30 associates of murdering 190 children and one adult on Monday. Justice Diana Kavedza Mochache delivered the ruling after a hearing lasting more than eight hours. Sentencing is scheduled for 6 November.

Mackenzie founded the Good News International Church in 2003 in Malindi with his wife. The church broadcast sermons on a television station called Times TV and drew thousands of followers across multiple branches in Kenya. Before establishing the church, Mackenzie was a taxi driver in Nairobi. He preached apocalyptic conspiracy theories, telling followers that education was 'evil' and forbidding children from attending school. He also discouraged followers from using medication and encouraged them to burn birth certificates and digital identification documents. His preaching was anti-Western, condemning the United States, the United Nations and the Catholic Church.

After authorities forced his church and television station to shut down in 2019, Mackenzie relocated to Shakahola Forest in Kilifi County, about 70 kilometres from Malindi, where some devotees joined him in mud houses. Prosecutors allege that Mackenzie 'initiated and directed' extreme fasting at the 800-acre forest base, ordering followers to starve themselves and their children to death to reach heaven before the world ended. The court heard that in some cases children were isolated and denied food while their parents watched.

Mackenzie was arrested in 2023 after police received a tip-off. Weeks later, authorities began uncovering bodies in shallow graves at the forest site. In total, more than 400 bodies have been recovered from Shakahola Forest. Many were severely decomposed, with only 26 able to be identified. Monday's judgment covered 191 of these deaths; investigations into the remaining deaths are continuing.

Mackenzie denied the murder charges, claiming he did not force victims to starve. The court rejected this argument. He pleaded not guilty to all charges and has also denied charges in separate cases including manslaughter and terrorism. He faced the court on Monday wearing a striped polo shirt and red trousers, sitting alongside his wife, one of the co-accused. He remained silent and stared into space as the ruling was delivered.

Family members of victims attended the hearing at Mombasa High Court. Francis Wanje, 62, lost eight family members including his daughter and two grandchildren to the cult. Before the session, he told media: 'We are expecting a ruling that will be a lesson to the whole public, so that such kinds of things will not happen again.' He expressed anger over the initial government inaction.

Calls have emerged in Kenya for tougher regulations on religious organisations after it emerged that Mackenzie had been arrested twice previously but released. The conviction is the first judgment in the case; further proceedings in related cases are expected to follow.

How it is being reported

• Kenyan doomsday cult leader and followers convicted of murdering 190 children in mass starvationA Kenyan court on Monday found starvation cult leader Paul Mackenzie and about 30 others guilty of murder over the deaths of 190 children and one adult.New York Post · 19 Oct, 18:08
• Doomsday cult leader who told parents to starve their children is found guilty of 191 murdersMackenzie was arrested in 2023 after police received a tip-off, and weeks later authorities began uncovering bodies in shallow graves in the Shakahola Forest near the coast.Daily Mail · 19 Oct, 17:20
• Starvation cult leader found guilty of murder of 190 childrenPaul Mackenzie is alleged to have incited his acolytes to starve to death in order to "meet Jesus."CBS News · 19 Oct, 17:13
• Kenyan starvation cult leader guilty of murder of 190 children and one adultPaul Mackenzie and his church set up sect that ordered followers to starve themselves and their children, say prosecutors A Kenyan court has found the starvation cult leader Paul Mackenzie and about 30 others guilty of murder over the deaths of 190 children and one adult in one of the world’s worst cult-related disasters in recent history. Mackenzie was arrested in 2023 after police received a tipoff, and weeks later authorities began uncovering bodies in shallow graves in the Shakahola forest near the coast in south-eastern Kenya. Continue reading...Guardian World · 19 Oct, 17:08
• Kenyan cult leader Paul Mackenzie found guilty over 191 starvation deathsPreacher Paul Mackenzie is accused of telling his followers to starve themselves to death. He ran a Christian doomsday cult called the Good News International Church that claimed the end of the world was imminent.DW News · 19 Oct, 16:49
• Kenya: Cult leader guilty of murdering 190 children, 1 adultPreacher Paul Mackenzie was accused of encouraging his followers to starve themselves to death. He ran a Christian doomsday cult called the Good News International Church that claimed the end of the world was imminent.DW News · 19 Oct, 16:49
• Who is cult leader Paul Mackenzie, accused of convincing followers to die?A Kenyan court is set to hand down the first judgement in the 'doomsday' cult case.Al Jazeera · 19 Oct, 15:54

In this story: Paul Mackenzie · Good News International Church · Kenya · Mombasa · Shakahola Forest · Malindi · Kilifi County · Francis Wanje

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem