Kenya’s Shakahola Tragedy: Cult Leader Convicted in 191 Murders

A Kenyan court has convicted self-proclaimed preacher Paul Nthenge Mackenzie and 28 co-defendants of murdering 191 people, including 190 children, in the Shakahola Forest tragedy, one of the country's most disturbing cases involving religious extremism and mass deaths.

The High Court ruling, delivered on Monday, October 19, 2026, found that Mackenzie and his co-accused were responsible for deaths linked to an organised system of religious teachings and enforced fasting at Shakahola Forest in Kilifi County, along Kenya's southeastern coast. The court rejected the defence argument that the victims had voluntarily fasted to death.

Justice Diana Kavedza Mochache ruled that the prosecution had proved its case against all 29 defendants beyond reasonable doubt. The convictions relate to deaths that occurred between January 2021 and September 2023, according to Kenyan media reports and the country's public broadcaster.

Mackenzie, who led the Good News International Church, allegedly taught followers that extreme fasting would enable them to reach heaven before the end of the world. Prosecutors argued that the religious teachings were used to organise and enforce practices that led to the deaths of followers, including children who could not meaningfully consent to the deprivation of food and water.

During the lengthy judgment, the court heard how some children were isolated and denied food while their parents watched. The judge rejected the argument that the victims had willingly undertaken the fast, emphasising the circumstances in which children were subjected to the practice.

Mackenzie had denied the murder allegations, maintaining that he had not forced his followers to die. The court's ruling, however, accepted the prosecution's case that the deaths resulted from an organised system in which religious instruction and an established hierarchy were used to direct and sustain deadly fasting.

The convictions follow the discovery of mass graves in Shakahola Forest in April 2023, after authorities received information about suspected deaths among members of the religious group. Subsequent searches uncovered more than 400 bodies, many of them believed to have belonged to followers of Mackenzie's movement. The 191 murder convictions concern a specific group of deaths; investigations and legal proceedings relating to other victims have continued separately.

The scale of the discoveries shocked Kenya and drew international attention to the activities of the preacher and his followers. The case also raised questions about how the group had continued operating despite earlier encounters with law enforcement. Authorities had previously investigated Mackenzie, and his church was shut down in 2019 before he relocated his operations to Shakahola, according to Reuters.

The Kenyan government has acknowledged failures in preventing the tragedy. President William Ruto said in 2023 that government agencies should have been able to stop the deaths and accepted responsibility for the failure to protect those affected.

The verdict marks a significant development in a case that has brought together questions of criminal accountability, child protection and the oversight of religious organisations. Sentencing was scheduled for November 6, 2026, following further court proceedings, according to reports published after the judgment.

The Shakahola case extends beyond the convictions themselves. With hundreds of bodies recovered from the forest and many victims still unidentified, the tragedy continues to affect bereaved families and communities seeking answers. The judgment establishes criminal responsibility for the 191 deaths covered by the trial, while the wider investigations underline the continuing challenge of identifying victims and determining the circumstances surrounding the remaining deaths.