{
  "id": 15685609,
  "title": "Kenya starvation cult pastor found guilty of murdering 190 children in Shakahola massacre",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/20/kenya-starvation-cult-pastor-found-guilty-of-murdering-190-children",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-20T02:05:58.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Malay Mail",
    "slug": "malay-mail-malaymail",
    "url": "https://www.malaymail.com/news/world/2026/10/20/kenya-starvation-cult-pastor-found-guilty-of-murdering-190-children-in-shakahola-massacre/239813"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In a landmark verdict, a Kenyan preacher named Paul Mackenzie and 28 associates were found guilty of murdering 190 children and one adult in the infamous Shakahola Forest Massacre. The discovery of hundreds of bodies since 2023 in the cult's inland base near Malindi beach led to the gruesome allegations. Mackenzie was alleged to have incited his followers to starve children to death in order to \"meet Jesus.\" The judge, Diana Kavedza Mochache, confirmed that the prosecution had proven the case against all 29 accused persons. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions welcomed the \"momentous\" verdict, stating that securing such a conviction was rare. The victims' families, including Francis Wanje who lost eight relatives, expressed mixed emotions. Some victims' bodies have yet to be identified. Mackenzie's defense lawyer, Lawrence Obonyo, called the verdict \"perplexing\" and plans to appeal, expressing confidence in overturning it. The case exposed Mackenzie's history of extremism and his past evasions of law enforcement. Sentencing is set for November 6.",
  "summary": "MOMBASA (Kenya), Oct 20 — A self-proclaimed Kenyan preacher and his associates were on Monday found guilty of murd...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Al Jazeera",
        "title": "Kenya convicts cult leader over the murder of 190 children",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/kenya-convicts-cult-leader-over-the-murder-of-190-children",
        "published": "2026-10-19T20:31:21.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Jerusalem Post",
        "title": "Doomsday preacher convicted of mass murder of 190 children, starvation deaths in Kenya cult case",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/20/doomsday-preacher-convicted-of-mass-murder-of-190-children-starvation",
        "published": "2026-10-20T05:38:32.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}