The leader of a Kenyan doomsday cult linked to hundreds of deaths was convicted on Monday of murdering 190 children and one adult after ordering his followers to starve themselves to death to meet Jesus. Justice Diana Kavedza ruled that Pastor Paul Mackenzie, who led the Good News International Church, oversaw an organized system that used religious doctrine to compel followers to fast until they died.
Beginning in 2023, authorities exhumed more than 400 bodies from shallow graves located across the 800-acre Chakama Ranch in coastal Kilifi County. Followers of Mackenzie had lived in isolated mud huts on the property, far away from the oversight of local communities and law enforcement.
Mackenzie was arrested alongside his wife and dozens of followers, with some co-accused individuals later transitioning to become prosecution witnesses. Throughout the trial, which also began in 2023, Mackenzie denied all charges and maintained that he did not force anyone to fast. A mitigation hearing has been scheduled for October 30, and sentencing is set for November 6.
The court determined that the fatal fasting directive specifically targeted children first. Guards were stationed to stop any attempts to flee, and children who tried to escape or eat food were beaten. Mackenzie also instructed his adherents to reject conventional education and medical care, with Justice Kavedza noting in her ruling that medical treatment was framed as an instrument of Satan.
For relatives of the victims, the verdict brought a measure of closure. William Ponda Ngala, who lost his mother, older brother, and two nephews to the cult, expressed relief that justice was served and hoped the outcome would deter other fraudulent religious figures from exploiting vulnerable followers.
Legal proceedings leading up to the conviction involved multiple jurisdictional debates regarding the structure of the indictment. The Court of Appeal ultimately allowed prosecutors to proceed with 191 murder counts against Mackenzie and his co-accused after earlier directives had ordered reductions in the number of charges.