In brief
A Kenyan court has handed Paul Mackenzie a verdict of 191 murders after he accused followers of starving children to "meet Jesus". The judge ruled that 28 other cult leaders were also guilty. In graves dug across the Shakahola forest investigators uncovered hundreds of bodies, most of them children, many tied or wrapped. Survivor testimonies reveal that followers were taught that medicine and education were evil, leading to widespread starvation and abuse. The trial is the first time the preacher faces a murder verdict, with sentencing set for 6 November.
Kenya’s court has confirmed the death of 191 people, largely children, under the direction of cult leader Paul Mackenzie.
Mackenzie, the former head of Good News International Ministries, used sermons in his TV station, Times TV, to spread extreme beliefs that medicine and education were evil. His followers were told to fast until death and were forced to abandon lifesaving drugs.
Justice Diana Mochache delivered a lengthy judgment in Mombasa. She remarked that Mackenzie was seen by his adherents as "Jesus’s mouthpiece". In the forest graves were marked as “weddings” where bodies were wrapped in sheets and tied with ropes.
Survivors such as Stephen Mwiti and Peter Shukrani testified that they were left to starve. Mwiti claimed all of his six children died in the forest while Shukrani said he would have perished if he had not been rescued. Many of the bodies discovered were infants and toddlers, some a few weeks old.
The trial also found 28 other leaders guilty. They all pleaded not guilty, claiming none of the deaths were forced. Some, however, now testify against Mackenzie.
Investigators uncovered over 400 bodies during a gravedigging operation coordinated by seventeen men paid a few dollars a day. Gravediggers described the scenes as horrific: several children tied and laid on top of each other; many indistinct due to decomposition.
Despite the horrors, some former followers remain loyal. Peter Shukrani still calls Mackenzie a good man, while Mackenzie’s son, Dan, insists his father deserves full blame and recognition that he is a mass murderer.
Sentencing is scheduled for 6 November. The case has made headlines across Africa for its brutal revelations and the legal system’s response to a cult that broke the law with mass murder and starvation.
