For one Kenyan father, no sentence will be enough. The Kenya starvation cult case reaches its final stage on Friday, November 6, when preacher Paul Mackenzie is due to be sentenced for the murders of 190 children and one adult.
Six Children, One Grave
Stephen Mwiti, 48, lost all six of his children in Shakahola Forest, where his wife took them in 2022. Only one child, his son Samuel, who was around seven, could be identified from the remains. Mwiti visits that grave in Malindi.
“Even if he were to be hanged, I will never see my children again,” he told Reuters. Four years after he last saw them, he says he still flinches when he meets children on his way home from work.
The Case Behind the Grief
Mackenzie and 28 others were convicted on October 19 of murders linked to the Good News International Church. Prosecutors say followers were told to starve themselves and their children to meet Jesus. More than 400 bodies have been recovered from the forest, and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights recorded 448 deaths. Many remains were so decomposed that only 26 children’s bodies could be identified.
Prosecutors have asked the High Court in Mombasa to impose the death penalty on Mackenzie. He has pleaded for a lighter sentence, arguing that those facing sentencing also suffered. The court has already rejected his claim that he did not force anyone to starve.
A Fear That Outlasts the Verdict
Mwiti and other relatives worry about something beyond punishment: that Mackenzie could keep spreading his deadly messages. That fear points to a wider question for Kenya, which President William Ruto has said agencies should have prevented. The tragedy sparked calls for tighter oversight of religious groups, a debate that balances protecting worship against protecting lives.
What Families Need
For many families, justice is only part of what they need. They also need answers about the missing, proper burials, and support for their grief. As the court prepares to deliver its sentence, Mwiti’s words remind us that behind every figure is a parent, a child and an empty chair.
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