# Shakahola families await verdict as hundreds remain missing

> A Kenyan court will rule on a pastor accused of forcing church members to starve to death. Three years later, families are still searching for their dead.
- Title: Shakahola families await verdict as hundreds remain missing
- Summary: A Kenyan court will rule on a pastor accused of forcing church members to starve to death. Three years later, families are still searching for their dead. A…
- Keywords: paul nthenge mackenzie, shakahola, good news international church, kenya, malindi, starvation, cult, mass graves, murder trial, religious regulation, news, world
- Source: RFI — https://rfi.fr/en/africa/20261018-shakahola-families-still-searching-for-their-dead-as-judgment-nears
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: paul nthenge mackenzie, shakahola, good news international church, kenya, malindi, starvation, cult, mass graves, murder trial, religious regulation, news, world
## Pastor faces verdict in starvation deaths
A Mombasa court will deliver its verdict Monday in the trial of Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, a self-proclaimed pastor accused of forcing church members including children to starve themselves to death.
## Discovery in March 2023
In March 2023, a man reported to Kenyan police that relatives who had joined a new church had not come home. Authorities searching the Shakahola forest near Malindi found hundreds of shallow graves.
## Hundreds still missing
While some people were found alive after the alert, hundreds more remain missing to this day. By October 2023, authorities had exhumed 428 bodies. Later exhumations brought the total to 446.
## Families still searching for loved ones
Alice Mwajuma Deche, 66, lost 12 relatives including two children and ten grandchildren. She has only found one, Elizabeth Dzidza Mwatsuma, identified through DNA profiling more than three years later.

> We have been through a difficult time. This was not an ordinary event. Losing 12 relatives is hard. But we are grateful that we found one of them.
## Conflicting accounts at trial
Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, leader of the Good News International church, faces 191 counts of murder, manslaughter and terrorism. He denies the charges. Thirty accomplices are also on trial.
## Witnesses describe different versions
Steven Sanga Muye testified people lived voluntarily and fasting came from the Holy Spirit. But Lucas Owino Ogola said he was forced to fast and assaulted for refusing.
## Stigma prevents families claiming remains
Of 443 bodies held at Malindi mortuary, only 34 have been identified through DNA matching. Peter Mwarogo, Kilifi County health official, says some families traced relatives but refused remains due to stigma.

> Some people were able to trace their relatives, but they refused to come and take the body because of the stigma.
## Officials ignored early warnings
Kenya's ombudsman found a gross dereliction of duty by officials who ignored warnings about Mackenzie's activities between 2021 and 2023. It called the deaths preventable and recommended disciplinary action for six officials.
## Church regulation bill stalled
A presidential task force recommended a separate statute and re-registration of all religious institutions. Cabinet approved a draft in July 2025, but application stalled after clergy appealed for withdrawal.

> Our greatest fear is that if this is not implemented, we are likely to see another Shakahola.
## Key takeaway

A Kenyan court will deliver a verdict Monday against Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, a pastor accused of forcing church members including children to starve to death. Families of the 446 victims recovered so far are still searching for hundreds more missing.