Kenyan cult leader Paul Mackenzie convicted of 191 murders in Shakahola forest

A Mombasa High Court found Paul Mackenzie, leader of the Good News International Church, guilty of murdering 191 people—190 children and one adult—on Monday, October 19, 2026. Mackenzie, in his early 50s, was convicted along with 28 associates of orchestrating an organised system of enforced starvation at his 800-acre ranch in Shakahola forest near Kenya's southeastern coast. Justice Diana Kavedza delivered an eight-hour ruling describing how Mackenzie used religious teachings and an established hierarchy to direct deadly fasting among followers, with children targeted to die first, followed by teenagers, women, and men. Prosecutors presented evidence that Mackenzie discouraged modern medicine and formal education, used sermons and written materials to persuade followers that the outside world was evil, and controlled followers through physical restraint and punishment when they resisted fasting directives.

The discovery of the cult began in April 2023 when authorities, acting on a tip-off from a rights group, arrested Mackenzie and began exhuming bodies from shallow mass graves. Kenyan authorities have recovered 429 bodies to date, with investigations continuing into additional deaths. Post-mortem findings indicated that while many victims died from starvation, others died from suffocation, neck compression, and traumatic head injuries. The court rejected Mackenzie's defence that followers acted voluntarily, finding instead that children were isolated, denied food, and punished for attempting to eat or escape. Mackenzie's attorneys have announced plans to appeal the conviction, maintaining their client's assertion that he did not force anyone to fast.

The Shakahola tragedy has prompted nationwide scrutiny of religious extremism and government oversight. It emerged that Mackenzie had been arrested twice previously—in 2017 over radicalisation charges (from which he was acquitted) and in 2019 in relation to two child deaths—but was released both times. In 2019, authorities shut down his church, after which Mackenzie relocated to Shakahola forest. Kenya's President William Ruto stated in 2023 that government agencies should have prevented the deaths and took responsibility as president. Calls have intensified for tougher regulations on religious organisations in Kenya.

Family members of victims attended the verdict at Mombasa High Court. Francis Wanje, 62, who lost eight family members including two grandchildren, expressed relief and hope that the ruling would prevent similar tragedies. Stephen Mwiti, 48, who lost all six of his children to the cult, stated he was "a happy man" that all persons had been convicted. Rodgers Shibutse, who found his mother's remains among those exhumed in February 2024, told CNN he wanted Mackenzie sentenced to life but acknowledged that "not 100% justice" could be achieved through sentencing.

Mackenzie's eldest son, Dan Mackenzie, 27, revealed that his younger siblings were still being forcibly fasted as recently as two weeks before the trial. He reported the case to police, who rescued eight children—including his five younger siblings—from their grandmother's house and transferred them to a rescue centre. Dan, who had initially defended his father, said he came to understand the scale of the tragedy during court proceedings. He left school at age seven and now works as a motorcycle taxi driver in Malindi, supporting himself and his siblings. Dan stated he reported family members still following the cult's teachings in order to free his siblings from ongoing abuse.

Mackenzie and his co-accused will be sentenced on November 6, 2026. They also face separate charges including terrorism, radicalisation, and denying children access to education. Prosecutors have indicated that further charges may follow as investigations into the remaining deaths continue.