{
  "id": 15623001,
  "title": "Kenya cult leader who told parents to starve children guilty of 191 murders",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/kenya-cult-leader-who-told-parents-to-starve-children-guilty-of-191",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-19T16:08:06.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "BBC News",
    "slug": "bbc-news",
    "url": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckd6d2l3dz4xo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Paul Mackenzie, the leader of a Kenyan doomsday cult, has been found guilty of murdering 191 people, mostly children, according to prosecutors. The cult, led by Mackenzie, instructed members to starve their children to death, believing it would bring them closer to Jesus. Mackenzie's doctrine prohibited education and considered modern medicine as evil. Twenty-nine other leaders of his cult were also convicted of murder, with all defendants pleading not guilty. The cult's members, from various parts of Kenya, were led to believe that resistance to fasting would result in being forced into heaven through violence. Anticipating the judge's eight-hour verdict, Mackenzie was sentenced to be determined on November 6. The cult's members were confined to mud houses within the Shakahola forest, where they fasted and observed strict religious beliefs. The discovery of over 400 bodies in shallow graves in the forest led to the cult's downfall in March 2023.",
  "summary": "Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Mackenzie was found guilty of 191 murder charges - all but one of them children.",
  "key_points": [
    "Paul Mackenzie, Kenyan cult leader, guilty of 191 murders",
    "Cult instructed members to starve children to death",
    "29 leaders convicted, all pleading not guilty"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "DW English (Top Stories)",
        "title": "Kenya: Cult leader guilty of murdering 190 children, 1 adult",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/kenya-cult-leader-guilty-of-murdering-190-children-1-adult",
        "published": "2026-10-19T15:49:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}