{
  "id": 15623989,
  "title": "Kenyan starvation cult leader convicted in deaths of nearly 200 children",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/kenyan-starvation-cult-leader-convicted-in-deaths-of-nearly-200",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-19T16:17:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/world/20261020/kenyan-starvation-cult-leader-convicted-in-deaths-of-nearly-200-children"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "A Kenyan court has convicted starvation cult leader Paul Mackenzie and 30 others for the murder of nearly 200 children and one adult in one of the world's worst cult-related disasters. The verdict covers 191 deaths, with more than 400 bodies recovered from the Shakahola Forest near Kenya's coast. Mackenzie and his Good News International Church were accused of ordering followers to starve themselves and children to death in a Christian doomsday sect, believing the world was ending. The court rejected Mackenzie's claim that he did not force the victims to starve, sentencing him and his co-accused to be determined on November 6.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 9,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Al Jazeera",
        "title": "Kenyan court convicts starvation cult leader for murder of 191 people",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/kenyan-court-convicts-starvation-cult-leader-for-murder-of-191-people",
        "published": "2026-10-19T15:34:22.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "DW News",
        "title": "Kenyan cult leader Paul Mackenzie found guilty over 191 starvation deaths",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/kenyan-cult-leader-paul-mackenzie-found-guilty-over-191-starvation",
        "published": "2026-10-19T15:49:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "South China Morning Post",
        "title": "Kenyan starvation cult leader found guilty of murder of 191 children, 1 adult",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/kenyan-starvation-cult-leader-found-guilty-of-murder-of-191-children",
        "published": "2026-10-19T15:51:17.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "RFI English",
        "title": "Kenyan cult leader, assistants guilty on all charges over 191 starvation deaths",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/kenyan-cult-leader-assistants-guilty-on-all-charges-over-191",
        "published": "2026-10-19T16:21:17.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "IOL",
        "title": "Kenyan cult leader guilty on all charges over 191 starvation deaths",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/kenyan-cult-leader-guilty-on-all-charges-over-191-starvation-deaths",
        "published": "2026-10-19T16:32:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Kenyan starvation cult leader convicted in deaths of nearly 200 children",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/kenyan-starvation-cult-leader-convicted-in-deaths-of-nearly-200-15627647",
        "published": "2026-10-19T16:57:02.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "People Daily Kenya",
        "title": "Mackenzie guilty verdict: What Kenyan law says about punishment for murder convictions",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/mackenzie-guilty-verdict-what-kenyan-law-says-about-punishment-for",
        "published": "2026-10-19T17:00:45.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "GBC Ghana",
        "title": "Kenyan cult leader found guilty of murdering 191 people, mostly children",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/kenyan-cult-leader-found-guilty-of-murdering-191-people-mostly",
        "published": "2026-10-19T18:10:12.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}