Kenyan court convicts cult leader Paul Mackenzie and co-accused of murder over Shakahola starvation deaths
Summary
A Kenyan court on Monday, 19 October 2026, found doomsday cult leader Paul Mackenzie, his wife Rhoda Maweu and about 30 co-accused guilty of murder over the deaths of 190 children and one adult, though some reports put the toll at 191 people, mostly children. Prosecutors say Mackenzie and his Good News International Church set up a community in the Shakahola Forest near the coast in south-eastern Kenya and ordered followers to starve themselves and their children so they could go to heaven. Mackenzie denied ordering the victims to starve so they could meet Jesus. He was arrested in 2023 after police received a tip-off, and weeks later authorities began uncovering bodies in shallow graves in the forest. Reports describe the case as one of the worst cult-related tragedies in recent history, and an ABC News headline refers to a cult that left more than 400 dead. The articles do not report a sentence.
Timeline
Sky News
Source ↗Sky News reports that doomsday cult leader Paul Mackenzie, his wife Rhoda Maweu and 29 other co-accused were found guilty of the murder of 190 children and one adult.
The Straits Times
Source ↗The Straits Times reports that Mackenzie ordered followers to starve themselves and their kids to death to enter heaven, in a story on his murder conviction over the deaths of 190 children and one adult.
Al Jazeera
Source ↗Al Jazeera reports that a Kenyan court convicted Paul Mackenzie of murdering 191 people, and that he denied ordering the victims to starve so they could meet Jesus.
The Straits Times
Source ↗The Straits Times reports that more than three years after Kenyan police unearthed mass graves linked to the cult, the preacher was convicted of murder over the deaths of 190 children and one adult.
South China Morning Post
Source ↗The South China Morning Post reports that a Kenyan court found Paul Mackenzie and 28 others guilty of murder over the deaths of 190 children and an adult, and that prosecutors say he and his church organised the deaths.
The Guardian
Source ↗The Guardian reports that a Kenyan court found Paul Mackenzie and about 30 others guilty of murder over the deaths of 190 children and one adult, and that prosecutors say his church set up a sect that ordered followers to starve themselves and their children.
Africanews
Source ↗Africanews reports that a self-proclaimed Kenyan preacher and his associates were found guilty on Monday of murdering 191 people, mostly children, in a starvation cult.
RFI
Source ↗RFI reports that a self-proclaimed Kenyan preacher and his associates were found guilty on Monday of murdering 191 people, mostly children, in what became known as the Shakahola Forest Massacre.
ABC News
Source ↗ABC News reports that a Kenyan doomsday cult leader was convicted of murdering 190 children and one adult, and its headline refers to a cult that left more than 400 dead.
Al Jazeera
Source ↗Al Jazeera's video report says the leader of a Kenyan cult who instructed followers to starve themselves to death to reach heaven was found guilty of murdering 190 children.
ABC (Australia)
Source ↗ABC (Australia) reports that a Kenyan death cult leader was found guilty of 191 murder charges, after using religious teachings to enforce deadly fasting on followers and their children.
NDTV
Source ↗NDTV reports that a Kenyan cult leader who convinced followers to starve was found guilty of 191 murders, and that Mackenzie was arrested in April 2023.
Sydney Morning Herald
Source ↗The Sydney Morning Herald reports that a taxi driver-turned-apocalyptic preacher was found guilty of murdering 191 people, most of them children, in one of the worst cult atrocities of recent history.
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