Kenya's Starvation Cult Leader Found Guilty Over Deaths of 190 Children

Kenya

A Kenyan court has found starvation cult leader Paul Mackenzie and about 30 of his followers guilty of murder over the deaths of 190 children and one adult, in one of the worst cult disasters in recent history. The verdict was delivered on Monday at the Mombasa High Court after a hearing that lasted more than eight hours. Mackenzie and his co-accused will be sentenced on November 6.

Prosecutors said Mackenzie and his Good News International Church ran a doomsday sect in the Shakahola Forest of southeastern Kenya, where followers were ordered to starve themselves and their children to death so they could reach heaven before the world ended. The judge heard that in some cases children were isolated and denied food while their parents watched. Mackenzie denied the charges, saying he never forced anyone to starve, but the court rejected his argument.

Mackenzie was arrested in 2023 after police received a tip-off, and investigators then began uncovering bodies in shallow graves across the forest. More than 400 bodies have been recovered in total, though only 26 could be identified because of severe decomposition. Monday's judgment covered 191 deaths, and investigations into the remaining deaths are still ongoing. Families of the victims, including Francis Wanje, who lost eight relatives including two grandchildren, gathered at the court to hear the verdict.

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