Paul Mackenzie Convicted of Murdering 191 People in Shakahola Cult Case

In a historic ruling, the High Court in Mombasa on Monday convicted cult leader Paul Mackenzie and 28 co-accused of murdering 191 people at the Shakahola forest in Kilifi County between January 2021 and September 2023. All but one of the victims were children connected to Good News International Ministries.

Lady Justice Diana Mochache delivered the monumental verdict in a 1,000-page judgment following an eight-hour court session. The high-profile trial saw the prosecution present evidence from 120 witnesses, while the defense called nine.

Departure from Doctrine: The Rise of a Deadly Cult

The court found that the church, headquartered at Kurunzi in Malindi with 35 branches across Kenya, propagated teachings that progressively departed from orthodox Christian doctrine. Witnesses detailed how the movement required followers to isolate themselves from society and relocate to the remote Shakahola forest.

Occupying roughly 4,860 acres within Chakama Ranch, the wilderness settlement was divided into biblical “villages,” including Galilaya, Judea, Tiro, Bethlehem, Sidoni, Samaria, and Sikari.

Evidence presented in court established that Mackenzie directed followers to fast to death to “meet Jesus.” He prescribed a strict, fatal order: children first, followed by youth, women, men, and finally Mackenzie and his family.

The court heard that followers who resisted faced brutal enforcement “kwa mangumi na mateke” (through kicks and blows).

Authorities launched investigations after a witness made a report at Lango Baya Police Station on March 17, 2023, regarding the starvation of children belonging to a couple within the church.

Between April and July 2023, multi-agency teams conducted four phases of exhumations, recovering 429 bodies from mass graves. Among these, 190 were children under the age of 16, alongside one adult.

The Six Pillars of Radicalization

During the proceedings, the court analyzed sermon recordings, forensic transcripts, and survivor testimony, determining that Mackenzie and his associate pastors relied on six fundamental pillars to radicalize their followers:

1. Denouncing Education: Pastors portrayed education as the work of the Antichrist, teachers as “masters of devil worship,” and school attendance as opposition to God. Consequently, parents withdrew their children from formal schooling.
2. Denouncing Health and Medicine: Sermons branded doctors as “wachawi” (witches) and killers, hospitals as the kingdom of Satan, and medical treatments as the “mark of the beast.” Witnesses shared harrowing accounts of children dying from easily treatable conditions due to denied medical care.
3. Shunning the Government: The ministry framed the state, its laws, national identification systems, and public programs as instruments of Satan, directing members to destroy identity documents and sever civic ties.
4. Isolating the “Wateule” from “Mataifa”: Leaders conditioned followers to view themselves as the elect (Wateule) and everyone else as worldly, corrupt, and dangerous (Mataifa), driving members to cut off family relationships completely.
5. Physical Exodus to “Kanisa Jangwani”: Citing Revelation 12:6 and 12:14, Mackenzie instructed the congregation to flee into the wilderness, presenting Shakahola forest as the sacred sanctuary prepared by God.
6. Subversion of Parental Instinct and Forced Fasting: Leaders manipulated parents into withholding food and water from their own children until death under the premise of sending them to Jesus. Those who attempted to resist met beatings, restraint, and confinement.

Courageous Testimony from Child Survivors

Twelve child survivors gave testimony in camera under pseudonyms, describing mandatory meetings under mitola trees where Mackenzie issued the starvation orders. They revealed that leaders denied children food and water despite stockpiles being available nearby.

The minors recalled watching their siblings die one after another. Cult leadership reframed these deaths as “harusi” (weddings) and celebrated the deceased as “shujaa wa imani” (heroes of faith), while workers flattened the mass graves to conceal the atrocities.

Forensic Findings and Upcoming Sentencing

Postmortem examinations supervised by Chief Government Pathologist Dr. Johansen Oduor attributed the 191 deaths to starvation. Detailed reports revealed:

• 72 deaths resulted directly from starvation or related complications.
• 4 deaths stemmed from asphyxia accompanied by starvation features.
• 2 deaths involved starvation alongside asphyxia features.
• 1 death resulted from manual neck compression.
• 1 death was caused by traumatic head injury.
• 110 deaths had an unascertained cause due to severe decomposition.

Thirty-one accused individuals originally faced 191 counts of murder under sections 203 and 204 of the Penal Code. Although Mackenzie maintained during the trial that he did not force victims to starve, the court firmly rejected his defense.

Lady Justice Diana Mochache set the official sentencing date for Mackenzie and his 28 convicted co-accused for November 6, 2026.

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