Kenyan preacher convicted over deaths of 191 children

A Kenyan court has convicted preacher Paul Nthenge Mackenzie and his associates of murdering 191 people, including 190 children, in a starvation cult case that shocked the country, Al Jazeera reported.

The Mombasa court delivered the verdict on Monday (October 19), finding Mackenzie and his followers guilty over deaths linked to a religious group accused of forcing children and other followers to starve themselves to death to “meet Jesus”. 

Mackenzie led the Good News International Ministries, a religious group he established in 2003. Prosecutors accused him of promoting extreme religious teachings and directing followers to fast until death in the belief that they would reach heaven before the end of the world.

The case came to light in 2023 when authorities began uncovering mass graves in the Shakahola forest in coastal Kenya. More than 400 bodies were subsequently discovered, with many victims believed to have died from starvation. Some bodies showed signs of other forms of violence. 

Mackenzie and his co-defendants had denied the murder charges. They also face separate cases involving alleged terrorism, radicalisation and child abuse.