Kenyan Court Finds Paul Mackenzie Guilty in Shakahola Deaths Case

A court in Mombasa, Kenya, has found self-proclaimed pastor Paul Mackenzie and several associates guilty of the murder of 191 people in the case involving Good News International Ministries.

The judgment is the first in Kenya’s doomsday cult case. All but one of the 191 people covered by the ruling were children.

Mackenzie, who headed Good News International Ministries, and the other accused had pleaded not guilty to the murder charges before the verdict. They also denied allegations in other cases involving terrorism, radicalisation and preventing children from obtaining an education.

Deaths linked to Shakahola forest

Police investigations led to shallow mass graves in Shakahola forest, in Kilifi County, and authorities found dozens of emaciated surviving members in the area. The forest is about 70 kilometres from Malindi.

In total, 429 deaths were reported, including people who later died in hospital, while hundreds of others remained declared missing. The judgment described in the case concerned 191 alleged murder victims, a figure distinct from the wider death toll.

Kenyan authorities accused Mackenzie of instigating a mass starvation campaign. Survivors told police that he had instructed followers to starve themselves until they could “meet Jesus”. The source account also says children were allegedly forced to starve for the same stated purpose.

Authorities reported that some victims died from strangulation or blunt trauma and that people who attempted to leave the group were attacked. These claims formed part of the wider allegations surrounding the deaths and have not been independently established in the supplied information.

Mackenzie’s ministry

Mackenzie established Good News International Ministries with his wife in Malindi in 2003. Before that, he worked as a taxi driver in Nairobi.

The church developed branches across Kenya, and Times TV broadcast Mackenzie’s sermons. Some followers are believed to have sold property to donate to the church, while Mackenzie reportedly convinced followers that he could speak to God.

The source describes his preaching as hostile to formal education and says he portrayed education as “evil”. Children were reportedly forbidden from attending school. It also says medication was banned as being contrary to religious “doctrine” and that followers were encouraged to burn birth certificates and digital identification documents.

Authorities began scrutinising Mackenzie’s activities in the late 2010s. The church and its television station were forced to close in 2019, after which Mackenzie moved to Shakahola forest. Some followers joined him there and lived in mud houses.

Authorities were alerted in 2023 after a man reported that his wife and daughter had moved to the forest.

Charges and related investigations

In January 2024, Mackenzie was charged with 191 counts of murder, and his church was proscribed as an “organised criminal group”. Mackenzie and 34 others, including other church leaders, were arrested and charged with murder and terrorism-related offences.

Enos Amanya Ngala, Mackenzie’s former head of security, entered a guilty plea deal and agreed to testify for the prosecution.

Officials also accused Mackenzie of involvement in another 52 deaths while he was in jail, alleging that victims were lured through notes from his prison cell.

At a 2024 hearing, the Kenya High Court urged prosecutors to reduce the charges to 12 to speed up the proceedings. Separately, 65 rescued victims were initially arraigned on attempted-suicide charges. A Mombasa court ordered them to remain at a rescue centre and be monitored after many reportedly rejected food.

The sentences following the guilty verdict were not specified in the supplied information.