Kenyan cult leader Paul Mackenzie convicted of 191 murders

A Kenyan court has convicted self-proclaimed pastor Paul Mackenzie and dozens of his associates of murdering 190 children and one adult in connection with the Shakahola starvation cult.

Mackenzie led the Good News International Church, which prosecutors said instructed followers to starve themselves and their children so they could reach heaven before the end of the world. He denied forcing anyone to fast, but the court rejected his argument. Al Jazeera reported that 28 associates were convicted alongside him, while other reports described about 30 co-defendants, including his wife, Rhoda Maweu.

Police arrested Mackenzie in 2023 after receiving a tip-off. Authorities subsequently discovered shallow graves in the Shakahola Forest near Kenya’s southeastern coast. More than 400 bodies have been recovered from the area, many of them severely decomposed. Monday’s judgment covered 191 deaths, while investigations into the remaining deaths are continuing.

Prosecutors said Mackenzie initiated and directed an organized program of extreme fasting at his 800-acre ranch. Justice Diana Kavedza Mochache said some children were isolated and denied food while their parents watched, according to The Irish Times.

Mackenzie and the others convicted are scheduled to be sentenced on November 6. The defendants have also denied charges in separate cases involving terrorism, radicalization and preventing children from receiving an education.