Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Mackenzie looks on during his court appearance at the Mombasa Law Court on October 19, 2026. (AFP)Published On 19 Oct 202619 Oct 2026A court in Kenya has found starvation cult leader Paul Mackenzie guilty of murder over the deaths of 191 people.
The Mombasa Law Court announced on Monday that the self-proclaimed pastor and dozens of his associates were guilty of the murder of 190 children and one adult.
Prosecutors said Mackenzie and his Good News International Church organised a Christian doomsday sect in which they ordered followers to starve themselves and their children to death, so they could go to heaven before the world ended and “meet Jesus”.
Police arrested Mackenzie in 2023 after receiving a tip-off. After some weeks, authorities began uncovering bodies in shallow graves in the Shakahola Forest near the coast in southeastern Kenya.
Mackenzie insisted that he did not force the victims to starve, but that was dismissed by the court.
The defendants had pleaded not guilty and denied charges in other cases, including terrorism, radicalisation, and stopping children from attaining an education.
