A Kenyan court convicted doomsday cult leader Paul Mackenzie and 28 associates of murdering 191 people, nearly all of them children, in the Shakahola Forest. Justice Diana Mochache delivered the eight-hour judgment in Mombasa on October 19, 2026, setting a November 6 sentencing date.
The Mombasa High Court found the self-proclaimed preacher and his co-accused guilty of 191 counts of murder following an investigation into the mass starvation deaths of cult members. The ruling marked the first major judgment in the doomsday cult case, which shocked the country after authorities began exhuming hundreds of bodies from shallow graves in southeastern Kenya.
How Good News International Ministries Drew Followers Into Shakahola Forest
Paul Mackenzie established Good News International Ministries with his wife in 2003 in the coastal city of Malindi. Over the following years, his preaching turned increasingly extreme, incorporating doomsday conspiracy theories that denounced formal education as evil and banned followers from using modern medicine or holding conventional identification documents.
CHARGED FOR MURDERS:High Court Judge Convict Pastor Paul Mackenzie and 29 others over Shakahola case
After authorities forced his church and television station to shut down in 2019, Mackenzie relocated his operations to an isolated tract of land in the Shakahola forest within Kilifi County, about 70 kilometres from Malindi. Cult members travelled from across the country to live in makeshift dwellings constructed from polythene sheeting and thatch, divided into biblical sectors bearing names such as Jerusalem and Judea.
People with direct knowledge of the cult’s activities stated that Mackenzie planned the mass starvation in three distinct phases: first targeting children, then women and young men, and finally the remaining men. Devotees sold off property to donate to the church and were forbidden from sending children to school or visiting hospitals during illness. Some surviving members recounted how Mackenzie accurately predicted a great virus prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, which reinforced his influence over followers seeking salvation from financial and medical struggles.
Justice Diana Mochache Rejects Defense Arguments During Eight-Hour Mombasa Ruling
Prosecutors established that Mackenzie initiated and directed extreme fasting according to a strict hierarchy designed to accelerate deaths. Witnesses testified that children were ordered to starve first, followed by unmarried women, men, and finally church leaders. When the judge called his name in court, Mackenzie sat alongside his wife wearing a striped polo shirt and red trousers, remaining silent and staring into space.
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.
Justice Diana Kavedza Mochache, Mombasa High Court judge
Evidence presented during the trial revealed that reluctant followers faced physical violence and isolation until they succumbed to starvation or trauma. State pathologists recovered more than 400 bodies from the wider forest area, with many victims showing signs of strangulation, asphyxia, or blunt force injuries alongside severe malnutrition. Investigators discovered graves containing 12 children buried in a line with bodies stacked on top of one another, as well as victims with bound hands and legs.
Photo: The Standard
Families Find Closure While Secondary Investigations and Prison Communications Continue
For families who spent years searching for missing relatives, the verdict offered a solemn measure of relief. Director of Public Prosecutions Renson Ingonga told reporters outside the courthouse that the decision represented the best judgment the prosecution could ever receive.
Even as the court prepared for the sentencing phase, prosecutors unveiled additional allegations concerning Mackenzie’s conduct behind bars. Investigators told the Mombasa High Court that Mackenzie used contraband mobile phones and SIM cards registered to fellow inmates at Shimo La Tewa Maximum Security Prison to continue communicating with co-accused persons and encouraging followers to fast in Kwa Binzaro village, where an additional 28 remains were exhumed. Prison officers recovered handwritten notes, Bibles containing telephone contacts, and SIM cards during surprise searches.
Shakahola Murder Trial | Court Delivers Verdict in Paul Mackenzie Case
Defense lawyer Lawrence Obonyo, who represents Mackenzie and almost all of the convicted co-accused, announced instructions to appeal the convictions as sentencing is scheduled for November 6.
