A Kenyan court has convicted the leader of a doomsday cult for the murders of 190 children and one adult. Justice Diana Kavedza ruled on Monday that Pastor Paul Mackenzie, who headed the Good News International Church, was responsible for overseeing a systematic campaign that utilized religious indoctrination to force his followers to fast until they died. The court found that the directives specifically targeted children, with guards stationed to prevent them from eating or fleeing, and those attempting to escape were subjected to physical beatings.
The conviction follows the discovery in 2023 of more than 400 bodies exhumed from shallow graves across the 800-acre Chakama Ranch in coastal Kilifi County. Followers lived on the property in mud huts, isolated from local communities and government oversight. Mackenzie, who had previously instructed his followers to reject both formal education and medical care—characterizing the latter as an "instrument of Satan"—has consistently denied the charges, claiming he never forced anyone to starve.
Following his arrest in 2023, Mackenzie was charged alongside his wife and several dozen followers, some of whom eventually testified for the prosecution. Legal proceedings have been complex; while the High Court initially requested that prosecutors limit the murder charges to 12 counts in May 2024, the Court of Appeal intervened, ruling that the law does not restrict the total number of charges that can be brought against a defendant. Consequently, in April of last year, the Court of Appeal permitted the state to proceed with 191 murder charges.
One family member of a victim expressed relief following the verdict, telling The Associated Press that he felt a sense of closure knowing that those responsible for his relatives' deaths had been convicted. A mitigation hearing for Mackenzie is set for October 30, with sentencing scheduled to follow on November 6.
