A Kenyan court has convicted controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie and 28 other defendants over the deaths of 190 children and an adult in a starvation cult tragedy that shocked the country.
The verdict was delivered on Monday, October 19, 2026, following a lengthy trial linked to the activities of Mackenzie’s Good News International Church.
Mackenzie was arrested in 2023 after police received information about suspected deaths in Shakahola Forest, near Kenya’s southeastern coast.
Investigators subsequently discovered mass graves containing the remains of hundreds of people.
Prosecutors told the court that Mackenzie led a Christian doomsday sect whose members were instructed to starve themselves and their children to death in preparation for what they believed would be the end of the world.
The case has sparked widespread outrage in Kenya and renewed demands for stricter government supervision of religious organisations.
Authorities have faced questions over how Mackenzie continued operating despite coming under police scrutiny as far back as 2017, when officers searched his premises.
His church was shut down in 2019, after which he relocated to Shakahola Forest, according to police.
Grandfather Welcomes Court Verdict
Mackenzie denied the murder allegations, insisting that he did not compel his followers to starve.
However, the court rejected his defence.
The convicted defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on November 6.
Their lawyer, Lawrence Obonyo, who represents Mackenzie and almost all the other defendants, said he had been instructed to appeal the judgment.
Among those affected by the tragedy is 62-year-old Francis Wanje, who lost eight family members, including two grandchildren, to the cult.
Speaking to Reuters, Wanje expressed satisfaction with the ruling, saying it had strengthened his confidence in the judiciary.
“So many are going to learn from what has come up today. … You find churches everywhere, but they’ve got ill reasons for the churches. So it is good for members of the public to be very careful,” Wanje added.
More Than 400 Bodies Recovered
Authorities have recovered more than 400 bodies from Shakahola Forest, while investigations into several deaths remain ongoing.
Many of the children’s remains were severely decomposed, making identification difficult.
Only 26 of the children’s bodies had been identified at the time of the report.
During a court hearing that lasted more than eight hours, Justice Diana Kavedza Mochache explained that some children had been isolated and denied food while their parents watched.
Kenya’s Director of Public Prosecutions, Renson Ingonga, praised the judgment after the proceedings at the Mombasa High Court.
“That is the best judgment we would ever get.”
Mackenzie appeared in court wearing a striped polo shirt and red trousers, sitting beside his wife, who is also among the accused.
According to the report, he remained silent and stared into space when the judge called his name.
How the Starvation Tragedy Unfolded
Investigations into the cult’s activities revealed that Mackenzie allegedly organised the starvation in stages, beginning with children, followed by women and young men, and finally the remaining men.
Relatives of victims previously told Reuters that Mackenzie, a former taxi driver, discouraged members from sending their children to school or seeking medical treatment when they became ill, describing such institutions as satanic.
Members reportedly lived in makeshift shelters constructed from polythene sheets and thatch.
Mackenzie divided the settlement into sections bearing biblical names, including Jerusalem and Judea.
The deaths began attracting wider attention in mid-March 2023, when a local resident alerted police that his brother and sister-in-law had allegedly starved their children to death in the forest on Mackenzie’s instructions.
Mackenzie was initially arrested but later released on bail.
Relatives alleged that he subsequently brought forward the date on which he had predicted the world would end.
Police arrested him again in April 2023 and intensified searches in the forest, leading to the discovery and exhumation of mass graves.
Beyond the murder convictions, Mackenzie faces additional charges connected to the deaths, including terrorism-related offences, which he has denied.
Prosecutors have also alleged that he directed the deaths of 52 people in Kwa Binzaro village while in detention.
The village is approximately 30 kilometres from Shakahola Forest.
Mackenzie has pleaded not guilty to the charges relating to the separate case.
