A Kenyan court has convicted starvation cult leader Paul Mackenzie and 28 co-defendants over the murders of children and an adult in the Shakahola massacre, a tragedy linked to more than 400 deaths in 2023.
High Court Justice Diana Kavedza-Mochache said on Monday the prosecution had proved its case against all 29 defendants, rejecting the defence argument that the victims had willingly taken part in fatal fasting.
“I reject the defence by the accused persons that the victims, who were all below the age of 16, voluntarily fasted to death,” the judge said while delivering the verdict.
The court found the defendants guilty of murder under Section 203 of Kenya’s Penal Code and convicted them under Section 322 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Court rejects claims of voluntary fasting
Mackenzie, the leader of the Good News International Church, was accused of encouraging followers to undertake extreme fasting in pursuit of spiritual salvation.
Prosecutors argued that the deaths were not the result of voluntary religious practices but of a coordinated campaign of fatal deprivation that affected vulnerable followers, including children.
The defendants denied the murder charges and maintained that the victims had chosen to fast. The judge rejected that defence, marking a significant development in the prosecution of one of Kenya’s most shocking criminal cases.
Mass graves exposed scale of Shakahola tragedy
The case came to national attention in 2023 after investigators discovered hundreds of bodies in shallow graves in Shakahola Forest, near the coastal town of Malindi.
Investigations uncovered mass graves and evidence of severe malnutrition, revealing the scale of the deaths and prompting widespread public outrage.
Kenyan authorities have linked more than 400 deaths to the tragedy, making it one of the country’s deadliest cult-related disasters.
Verdict renews scrutiny of religious oversight
The massacre triggered intense debate over the regulation of religious organisations and the ability of state institutions to identify and intervene in cases of abuse before they become deadly.
It also raised urgent questions about child protection and the vulnerability of people subjected to extreme religious practices.
Monday’s verdict represents a major step in the legal response to the Shakahola deaths, as Kenya continues to confront the consequences of the tragedy and questions over how the group was able to operate.
