Kenyan court convicts preacher, 28 others over Shakahola massacre
A Kenyan court has convicted self-proclaimed preacher Paul Mackenzie and 28 associates of murdering 191 people, including 190 children, in the Shakahola Forest massacre.
The verdict was delivered on Monday in Mombasa, following a trial over the deaths of followers allegedly subjected to extreme fasting at a remote religious compound near the coastal town of Malindi.
The judge said the prosecution had proved its case against all 29 defendants for the murder of 190 children and one adult.
Prosecutors accused Mackenzie of directing his followers to starve themselves to death in the belief that doing so would enable them to meet Jesus.
Investigators said the fasting was carried out under what prosecutors described as a structured hierarchy of death, in which children were expected to die first, followed by teenagers, women and men.
Post-mortem examinations and police reports indicated that most of the children died from starvation, while others suffered asphyxia, neck compression and traumatic head injuries.
More than 400 bodies discovered
The case came to public attention in April 2023 after a rights group alerted authorities, leading to the rescue of some followers and a police operation that uncovered numerous shallow mass graves in Shakahola Forest.
Kenya’s National Commission on Human Rights reported 429 deaths in 2024. Further bodies have since been discovered, while some victims remain unidentified.
Mackenzie was arrested in April 2023 after the discovery of the mass graves. In January, he was also charged in connection with 52 additional bodies found in a nearby village.
Families demand justice
Relatives of victims attended the court proceedings, with some travelling from rural communities along Kenya’s coast.
Francis Wanje, 62, who lost eight family members, including his daughter and two grandchildren, described the verdict as an important day for the families and expressed hope that it would prevent similar tragedies.
The case has intensified calls for tougher regulation of religious organisations in Kenya, particularly following revelations that Mackenzie had previously been arrested but released.
He established the Good News International Church in 2003 and reportedly attracted thousands of followers through branches in Nairobi and along the Kenyan coast. He later claimed the church had closed in 2019.
Mackenzie was arrested in 2017 on charges related to radicalisation but was acquitted. He was arrested again in 2019 in connection with the deaths of two children at Shakahola but was released on bail.
He has also denied separate charges of manslaughter and terrorism.
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