Staff Reporter
A Kenyan court has convicted cult leader Paul Mackenzie and 28 others of murdering 190 children and one adult after ordering followers to fast to death in Shakahola Forest.
Justice Diana Kavedza delivered the verdict at the Mombasa High Court on October 19. According to the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), Mackenzie’s Good News International Church taught followers that starving to death would allow them to enter heaven.
The group targeted children first. Guards restricted movement and prevented followers from escaping. Prosecutors presented evidence that adults denied children food and punished those who tried to eat or flee.
“Once at the settlement, they were directed to fast,” Kavedza said in her ruling, as reported by KBC.
The court rejected suggestions that the children had willingly participated.
Sky News reported that the judge found they lacked the legal capacity to consent to fasting to death. Many were between six and 10 years old, while the youngest were only months old.
The ruling also described how Mackenzie made followers dependent on him.
They surrendered control over decisions affecting their lives and their children’s welfare.
Prosecutors called 123 witnesses, including children and adult accomplices.
They also presented medical examinations, DNA analysis, digital recordings and other evidence, KBC reported.
Witnesses described watching siblings and other children suffer and die inside the settlement.
Investigators uncovered the tragedy in 2023 after discovering starving followers and graves in the forest. Authorities eventually recovered more than 400 bodies.
ABC News reported that Mackenzie opposed formal schooling, some medicines and vaccinations.
His teachings cut children off from essential services.
For bereaved families, the conviction brought some relief after years of grief.
“Finally, as a family, we can breathe a sigh of relief,” William Ponda Ngala told The Associated Press.
Ngala lost his mother, older brother and two nephews.
He hoped the outcome would discourage other religious leaders from exploiting followers.
Authorities had known about Mackenzie years before investigators discovered the graves. Reuters reported that he had been on their radar since 2017.
President William Ruto previously acknowledged that government agencies should have prevented the deaths.
Mackenzie denied forcing followers to starve.
His lawyer, Lawrence Obonyo, told Reuters that his clients had instructed him to appeal.
The court will sentence the defendants on November 6.
Investigators continue to examine other deaths linked to the forest.
