# Cult leader faces verdict on 191 murder charges in Kenya

> A Kenyan judge delivers a verdict in a mass murder case involving doomsday preacher Paul Mackenzie and 29 followers accused of starving 191 people to death.
- Title: Cult leader faces verdict on 191 murder charges in Kenya
- Summary: A Kenyan judge delivers a verdict in a mass murder case involving doomsday preacher Paul Mackenzie and 29 followers accused of starving 191 people to death…
- Keywords: paul mackenzie, shakahola cult, kenya, mass murder, starvation, children, doomsday preacher, good news international ministries, court verdict, news, world, Cult
- Source: BBC News — https://bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckd6d2l3dz4xo
- Published: 2026-10-19T03:44:02.982+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: paul mackenzie, shakahola cult, kenya, mass murder, starvation, children, doomsday preacher, good news international ministries, court verdict, news, world
## Judge delivers verdict in mass murder case
A Kenyan judge has started to deliver a verdict in a case involving doomsday preacher Paul Mackenzie and 29 followers charged with murdering 191 people.
## Almost all victims were children
Mackenzie and his 29 followers are accused of murdering 191 people, all but one of them children. The cult allegedly forced children to starve to death.
## The cult's forbidden doctrine
Mackenzie's doomsday doctrine said education was forbidden and modern medicine was considered evil. His followers were told they could meet Jesus through starvation.
## All defendants deny the charges
Mackenzie and the 29 others have all pleaded not guilty to murder, repeatedly insisting that nobody was forced to die. One former security head became a prosecution witness.
## Over 400 bodies found in shallow graves
Authorities discovered over 400 bodies in shallow graves in Shakahola forest near the Kenyan coast, where Mackenzie led followers from across the country.
## Gravediggers describe horrific remains
Seventeen men hired to dig up graves found children as young as a few weeks old. One gravedigger found twelve children's bodies arranged in a line inside one grave.

> Every grave we found had at least three bodies. Some of the remains were of children as young as a few weeks old.
## The church's 16-year rise to power
Mackenzie established Good News International Ministries in 2003. Over 16 years the church grew to thousands of followers across Kenya through his television station Times TV.
## Sermons preached conspiracy and control
Mackenzie's End Days sermons described education as evil, healthcare as against doctrine, and digital identity cards as the mark of the devil. He forbade women makeup and hairstyles.
## A father loses all six children
Stephen Mwiti, 48, lost all six of his children to the cult. He found and buried only the remains of his son Samuel. His former wife is among those accused.

> If I met Pastor Mackenzie today, one of us will have to die.
## A survivor still believes in Mackenzie
Peter Shukrani, 23, was rescued from the forest in March 2023 after his mother threw away his medicine. He says he would have died if not rescued but still loves Mackenzie.

> I still love him and he is still my pastor.
## Mackenzie's son calls him a murderer
Dan Paul Mackenzie, who worked as a cameraman in the church, believes his father should be found guilty. He says as the leader, Mackenzie is responsible for mass killing.

> He was the leader, he was someone who they were looking up to. So he is a murderer of mass killing.
## Most victims remain unidentified
Of the 191 victims, 190 are children. Many bodies are still unidentified due to advanced decomposition. Court documents refer to several as unknown male child, identified only by grave location.
## Key takeaway

Paul Mackenzie and 29 followers face a verdict on charges of murdering 191 people, mostly children, in a starvation cult in Kenya's Shakahola forest.