Cult leader guilty of 191 murders

Paul Mackenzie, a Kenyan cult leader, was found guilty on Monday of murdering one hundred ninety children and one adult who starved to death in Shakahola forest near the coast.

He ordered followers to starve

Mackenzie ordered members of his doomsday cult to starve themselves and their children to death so they could meet Jesus. Twenty-eight other cult leaders were also convicted of murder.

His son reports recent starvation

Dan Mackenzie, twenty-seven, the cult leader's eldest son, says his younger siblings were forced to fast as recently as two weeks ago.

“They were basically forcibly fasted because they were denying food to them for almost three days.”

Dan escaped the cult as a child

Dan was forced to fast for almost a week when he was twelve and was beaten by church members for hours to make him attend services.

“I left school when I was seven.”

Dan now supports his siblings

Living in the coastal town of Malindi, Dan works as a motorcycle taxi driver to support himself and his younger siblings. He reported his grandmother to free his siblings from the cult's teachings.

Mackenzie faces sentencing soon

Justice Diana Mochache delivered an eight-hour judgment in Mombasa. Mackenzie is due to be sentenced on sixth November and faces separate cases involving terrorism, radicalisation and denying children an education.