Kenyan Pastor Paul Mackenzie Convicted of Murdering 191 People
A Kenyan high court has convicted self-proclaimed pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie and 29 of his associates of murder over the starvation deaths of 191 people, including 190 children.
Mackenzie operated the Good News International Church as an apocalyptic doomsday sect. He convinced hundreds of devotees to sell their earthly possessions, abandon modern medicine and education, and retreat into the remote, 800-acre Shakahola forest in eastern Kenya.
Once isolated, followers were ordered to systematically starve themselves and their children to death to “meet Jesus” before the predicted end of the world.
Delivering judgment at the Mombasa High Court, Justice Diana Mochache ruled that the prosecution successfully demonstrated how Mackenzie used an “organized system” of religious indoctrination, physical abuse, and strict hierarchy to enforce deadly fasting among his followers.
The verdict directly covers 191 specific deaths, marking the first major conviction on murder charges for the cult leader, who is scheduled to be sentenced on November 6, 2026.
The court heard harrowing witness testimonies revealing that the starvation process was strictly sequential. Children were forced to fast first, followed by youths, women, and finally men.
To ensure compliance, Mackenzie’s inner circle deployed armed guards to monitor the encampments, brutally beating or kicking followers who resisted the fast or attempted to escape.
Deceased victims were buried in mass, shallow graves within the forest—hidden ceremonies the cult darkly referred to as “weddings with Jesus.”
The incident was uncovered in April 2023, when human rights groups tipped off local authorities, leading police to raid the forest compound. Mackenzie was arrested, and dozens of emaciated survivors were rescued.
Over the following months, forensic teams uncover a vast network of mass graves. To date, more than 400 bodies have been exhumed from the Shakahola forest. While starvation was the primary cause of death, autopsies revealed that several children had been strangled, suffocated, or beaten to death.
The landmark trial has been called one of the most consequential criminal cases in Kenya’s history.
Even with these murder convictions, Mackenzie’s legal battles are far from over. He and various configurations of his 94 co-defendants still face separate high-profile trials for terrorism, radicalization, child cruelty, manslaughter, and financial crimes.
