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A Kenyan pastor who persuaded followers that starving themselves would help them enter heaven has been convicted of 191 counts of murder over the deaths of his followers and their children.
Pastor Paul Mackenzie, who led the Good News International Church, and 28 others were found guilty of murder in connection with the deaths caused by an extreme starvation cult. The ruling was delivered on Monday by a court in Kenya.
According to the Associated Press (AP), Judge Diana Kavedza said Mackenzie, his associates and guards controlled a system in which religious teachings and the church were used to impose deadly fasting on a community living in a forest.
The murder charges relate to the deaths of 190 children and one adult. Mackenzie and the other defendants face separate charges of manslaughter, terrorism and child abuse in connection with the deaths of more than 230 additional people.
Mackenzie has denied all allegations that he forced his followers to starve themselves. His co-defendants have also pleaded not guilty. The court is scheduled to deliver its verdict in their cases on November 6.
Although Kenya retains the death penalty, the country has not carried out an execution since 1987.
The cult came to light in April 2023 after Mackenzie shut down his church in the coastal town of Malindi and moved hundreds of followers to a nearby forest in Shakahola.
Police searching for missing people discovered emaciated followers and shallow mass graves across a large farm in the forest. It took several weeks to recover more than 400 bodies.
Post-mortem examinations found that starvation was the main cause of death in the Shakahola massacre, although some victims had died from strangulation or head injuries.
Mackenzie previously sold goods on the streets and worked as a taxi driver before founding the Good News International Church in Malindi in 2003.
His teachings included opposition to formal education, certain medicines and vaccination. He also opposed the government’s national identity card programme, claiming that the identification numbers were the work of Satan. He was arrested in 2019 over his views and subsequently closed his church, moving followers to the forest settlement.
According to survivors, the community established villages named after biblical places, including Nazareth.
The COVID-19 pandemic further strengthened Mackenzie’s belief that the world was approaching its end. He and his associates subsequently imposed strict fasting rules and prohibited parents from feeding their children.
Survivors said those who challenged his teachings or attempted to flee the forest were beaten.
Fasting continued for more than two years
Judge Kavedza said the evidence showed that fasting had been imposed on children as a supposed path to heaven. The practice reportedly began around January 2021 and continued for more than two years before authorities uncovered it.
Mackenzie and his associates were formally charged in February 2024. Prosecutors presented testimony from 123 witnesses during the trial.
Two additional defendants facing murder charges died during the proceedings.