A Kenyan court has found Paul Mackenzie and 28 associates guilty of murdering 190 children and one adult. The convictions stem from a starvation cult operated within the Shakahola Forest near Mombasa.
The 190 children lost to the Shakahola Forest
On Monday, a court in Mombasa convicted Paul Mackenzie and 28 other members of his inner circle for the deaths of 190 children and one adult. According to the report,Mackenzie and his Good News International Church established a doomsday sect that mandated followers starve themselves and their offspring to ensure entry into heaven before a predicted apocalypse .
Justice Diana Kavedza Mochache detailed the cruelty of the operation during a hearnig that lasted over eight hours, noting that some children were isolated and denied food while their parents were forced to watch. Mackenzie, who appeared in court wearing a striped polo shirt and red trousers, remained silent as the verdict was read. He and his co-accused, including his wife, are scheduled for sentencing on November 6.
A three-phase plan of starvation and isolation
The scale of the tragedy was driven by a calculated strategy of deprivation. People with direct knowledge of the cult told Reuters that Paul Mackenzie organized the mass starvation in three distinct phases: targeting children first, followed by women and young men, and finally the remaining men.
To maintain control, Paul Mackenzie forbade his followers from accessing basic societal supports. Relatives of the victims reported that the preacher banned children from attending school and prohibited followers from visiting hospitals when ill, labeling these institutions as "satanic." The cult members lived in makeshift shelters made of thatch and polythene sheeting, which Mackenzie divided into sectors with biblical names such as Judea and Jerusalem.
Police warnings since 2017 and the 2019 churcch closure
The convictions have ignited a fierce debate over state negligence in Kenya.. As reported, Paul Mackenzie had been on the radar of Kenyan authorities since 2017, when police conducted searches of his premises. Although authorities shut down his church in 2019, Mackenzie simply relocated his operations to the Shakahola Forest , where the mass killings continued largely unchecked.
This failure of oversight has led to calls for stricter regulation of religious organizations in Kenya, a nation where faith is deeply integrated into public life. Kenyan President William Ruto has acknowledged the government's failure, stating in 2023 that state agencies should have prevented the deaths and taking personal responsibility as president for the lapse.
The 400 bodies and the Kwa Binzaro village charges
While 191 deaths led to this specific conviction , the total death toll in the Shakahola Forest is far higher. More than 400 bodies have been recovered from the site, though the high level of decomposition meant that only 26 of the children's bodies could be positively identified. Investigations into the remaining deaths are still ongoing.
Furthermore, the legal battle for Paul Mackenzie is far from over. He faces additional terrorism-related charges and separate allegations regarding the deaths of 52 people in Kwa Binzaro village, located approximately 30 kilometers from the Shakahola site. While Mackenzie has pleaded not guilty to the Kwa Binzaro charges, prosecutors claim he directed those deaths while he was already in detention.
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