{
  "id": 15671586,
  "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-15671586",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-19T23:52:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times-koreatimes",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/world/20261020/kenyan-cult-leader-guilty-on-all-charges-over-191-starvation-deaths"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Mombasa, Kenya - A self-proclaimed Kenyan preacher and 28 associates were found guilty of killing 190 children and one adult in a notorious starvation cult, according to prosecutors. The victims were allegedly starved to death in the belief that it would bring them closer to Jesus, a claim the preacher and his followers faced in an open-air courtroom in Mombasa on Monday. Judge Diana Kavedza Mochache declared that the prosecution had successfully proven the case against all 29 accused individuals for the murder of 190 children and one adult. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions hailed the landmark verdict, emphasizing the rarity of securing such convictions. Since the discovery of the bodies in 2023, the total count of victims has surged well above 400, including children, women, and men. The cult, led by self-proclaimed pastor Paul Mackenzie, operated in the Shakahola Forest, located inland from the coastal resort town of Malindi.",
  "summary": "MOMBASA, Kenya — A self-proclaimed Kenyan preacher and his associates were on Monday found guilty of murdering 190 children and one adult in an infamous starvation cult. Hundreds of bodies have been discovered since 2023 at the cult base inland from the Kenyan beach resort of Malindi, in what became known as the \"Shakahola Forest Massacre\". Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Mackenzie was alleged to…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 10,
    "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": "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",
        "published": "2026-10-19T16:17:02.000Z"
      },
      {
        "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": "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"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "ABC News AU",
        "title": "Kenyan death cult leader found guilty of 191 murder charges",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/20/kenyan-death-cult-leader-found-guilty-of-191-murder-charges",
        "published": "2026-10-20T01:36:09.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}