A Kenyan court has found cult leader Paul Mackenzie and about 30 co-accused guilty of murder in connection with the deaths of 190 children and one adult. Prosecutors stated that Mackenzie and his Good News International Church formed a Christian doomsday sect, instructing followers to starve themselves and their children to death to reach heaven.
Mackenzie, who denied the murder charges, was arrested in 2023. Weeks later, authorities began unearthing bodies in shallow graves within the Shakahola forest in south-eastern Kenya. Justice Diana Kavedza Mochache noted during the eight-hour hearing that some children were isolated and denied food while their parents observed.
More than 400 bodies have been recovered from the Shakahola forest in total, though many were severely decomposed, with only 26 identified. Monday's judgment specifically addressed 191 deaths, while investigations into other deaths are ongoing.
The Shakahola tragedy has prompted questions regarding how Mackenzie continued to operate, despite being on authorities' radar since 2017. Kenya's president, William Ruto, stated in 2023 that government agencies should have been able to prevent the deaths, accepting responsibility.