Kenyan starvation cult leader convicted in deaths of nearly 200 children

MOMBASA, Kenya — A Kenyan court convicted starvation cult leader Paul Mackenzie and around 30 others on Monday of murder for the deaths of 190 children and one adult in one of the world's most notorious cult-related tragedies. Mackenzie, along with his co-defendants, will be sentenced on November 6. He was apprehended in 2023 following a police tip-off, and authorities subsequently discovered bodies in shallow graves within the Shakahola Forest, located in southeastern Kenya.

Prosecutors allege that Mackenzie and his Good News International Church orchestrated a Christian doomsday sect in which they instructed adherents to starve themselves and their children in order to secure a place in heaven before the world allegedly ended. Mackenzie pleaded not guilty, claiming he did not coerce the victims to starve, but the court dismissed this defense.

The investigation has uncovered over 400 bodies in the Shakahola Forest, with only 26 identified. Monday's verdict addresses 191 fatalities, while investigations into the remaining cases are still ongoing. Families in court on Monday expressed their anguish over the catastrophic loss.