Kenya court convicts Paul Mackenzie and co-accused of murdering 191 in Shakahola case

As of 1:25 p.m. ET, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026

Kenya’s High Court in Mombasa on Monday convicted Kenyan cult leader Paul Mackenzie and his co-accused of murdering 191 people — 190 children and one adult — in the Shakahola starvation case, DW reported, quoting Justice Diana Kavedza Mochache.

“I am satisfied that the prosecution has proved the case against all the 29 accused persons for the murder of 190 children and one adult,” the judge said after a hearing that lasted more than eight hours, according to DW.

Capital FM Kenya reported the same ruling and said the court convicted all 29 accused under Kenya’s Criminal Procedure Code, rejecting the defence argument that the victims had voluntarily fasted to death. The judge set sentencing for Friday, Nov. 6, in open court, with the convicts to be produced physically, Capital FM reported. Pre-sentence probation reports are due in court Oct. 30, followed by defence mitigation submissions, the outlet said. DW and the BBC also reported that sentencing is set for Nov. 6.

Mackenzie founded the Good News International Church and was accused of directing followers to starve so they could “meet Jesus,” DW reported. Prosecutors said he initiated extreme fasting at an 800-acre ranch in Shakahola Forest and described a hierarchy in which children were to die first, followed by teenagers, women, and then men, DW said. Post-mortems and police reports showed children mostly died of starvation but also of asphyxia, neck compression, and traumatic head injury, prosecutors said, according to DW.

Mackenzie was arrested in 2023, and authorities then began uncovering bodies in shallow graves in Shakahola Forest near Kenya’s coast, Reuters reported. More than 400 bodies have been recovered from the forest overall; Monday’s judgment covered 191 of those deaths while other investigations continue, Reuters reported. The BBC said Mackenzie and other cult leaders also face separate cases including terrorism, radicalisation, and denying education to children, and that this was the first murder verdict against him on the most serious counts.

Mackenzie was impassive in the Mombasa courtroom as he and the other accused were found guilty, AFP reported. Francis Wanje, 62, who lost eight family members in Shakahola, told AFP before the session that the day was “very, very important” and that he expected a ruling that would be “a lesson to the whole public.”

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions said in a statement posted on X at 11:37 a.m. ET Monday that Mackenzie and 28 co-accused were convicted of the murder of 191 people, including 190 children, and that murder charges against two other accused who died during the trial were withdrawn. The Kenya Judiciary had not issued a written statement on the convictions as of 1:25 p.m. ET Monday.