Three years of waiting ended in a Mombasa courtroom on Monday. The Kenya cult deaths case reached its defining moment when the court found self-proclaimed pastor Paul Mackenzie and 28 co-accused guilty of murder. The judge said prosecutors had proved the killing of 190 children and one adult, the 191 starvation deaths at the heart of the charges. Mackenzie sat impassive as the Kenyan court verdict was read.
The Kenya cult leader and his “hierarchy of death”
Prosecutors said the Kenya cult leader directed extreme fasting at his 800-acre ranch in Shakahola Forest, inland from Malindi. Followers were told that starving would bring them closer to Jesus. According to the prosecution, the plan followed a ranking of who should die first: children, then teenagers, then women, then men.
Starvation was not the only cause of death. Post-mortems and police reports also pointed to asphyxia, neck compression and head injuries.
A cult deaths investigation that shook Kenya
The cult deaths investigation began in April 2023, when a rights group tipped off authorities and some followers were rescued. Police then uncovered hundreds of shallow graves, and local morgues ran out of space. The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights put the toll at 429 in 2024, and more victims remain unidentified.
Mackenzie founded the Good News International Church in 2003, with branches in Nairobi and along the coast. He was arrested in 2017 on radicalisation charges and acquitted. In 2019 he was arrested over two child deaths at Shakahola and released on bail. He also faces separate manslaughter and terrorism charges, which he denies, and in January he was charged over 52 more bodies found at a nearby village.
What families and the nation want next
Relatives travelled to Mombasa from rural coastal communities. Francis Wanje, 62, lost eight family members, including his daughter and two grandchildren. He said he hoped the ruling would be a lesson so such things never happen again.
For many Kenyans the case raises an uncomfortable question. Faith runs deep across the continent, and so does trust in charismatic preachers. Calls for tougher regulation of religious organisations have grown, especially since it emerged that Mackenzie was arrested twice before and released. The challenge is to protect the vulnerable without restricting the freedom to worship.
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