Doomsday Cult's Grim Verdict: Kenyan Leader Guilty of 191 Murders, Child Victims Predominate

Paul Mackenzie, the leader of a doomsday cult in Kenya, has been found guilty of the murders of 191 individuals, with all but one being children. His cult's doctrine mandated that members starve their children to death, believing it would allow them to "meet Jesus." Furthermore, Mackenzie forbade education and labeled modern medicine as "evil." This conviction also extended to 29 other leaders of his cult, all of whom had maintained their innocence, asserting that no one was compelled to die.

Justice Diana Mochache delivered an eight-hour judgment in Mombasa, revealing that Mackenzie's followers regarded him as "Jesus's mouthpiece." One co-accused testified that Mackenzie instructed that anyone resisting the fasting directive "must be forced to go to heaven through kicks and blows." Burials within the Shakahola forest, where the cult was based, were deceptively termed "weddings," and those who perished were "celebrated as having wedded with Jesus." A distressing witness account detailed a pregnant woman being prevented from nursing her newborn, who subsequently died after 12 days, followed by the mother being instructed to fast to death.

Mackenzie's arrest in 2023 followed the horrifying discovery of over 400 bodies buried in shallow graves within Shakahola forest, where he had gathered followers from across Kenya. Seventeen men were hired from a nearby town for the grim task of exhuming the graves, some paid as little as $8 (£6) a day. Gravediggers reported finding at least three bodies in every grave, with some containing children merely weeks old. One particularly chilling discovery involved 12 children's bodies arranged in a line "like clothes, one on top of another," with some showing signs of having their hands and legs tied and bodies wrapped in bedsheets.

Stephen Mwiti, a 48-year-old father, tragically lost all six of his children to the cult. His former wife was among those convicted of murder alongside Mackenzie. Mwiti expressed his satisfaction with the verdict, though visibly emotional, he recounted only being able to find and bury the remains of his son, Samuel. He traced the start of his ordeal to Mackenzie's doctrine, which permeated his home via the cult's television station.

Mackenzie founded Good News International Ministries in 2003, and over 16 years, it attracted thousands of followers across Kenya. The church operated Times TV, broadcasting his sermons from Malindi. His "End Days" sermons propagated conspiracy theories, condemning education as "evil," healthcare as "against the doctrine," and digital identity cards as "the mark of the devil." His son, Dan Paul Mackenzie, who worked as a cameraperson for the church, described services where children sat at the back and adults in the middle, singing worship songs, followed by his father's fiery sermons at noon, often involving "casting out demons."

In 2019, the main church shut down, and Paul Mackenzie moved to Shakahola forest, urging his devotees to follow. Peter Shukrani, 23, whose mother relocated with him, had attended Mackenzie's church since age eight and considered him his "spiritual father." Shukrani's condition gravely deteriorated in the forest due to the ban on medication; his mother, believing God alone could heal, discarded his necessary medicines. He described the community living in scattered mud houses, observing a "quiet normal life, fasting for a few days then having a small meal."

By March 2023, when local herders first discovered remains, hundreds had already succumbed to the cult's directives. Gravediggers recounted individuals being so frail they would die in their arms while being carried from the forest. Shukrani, rescued from the forest in March 2023, confirmed he "would have died" if not for his rescue, reiterating his mother's strict adherence to Mackenzie's anti-medicine doctrine. Many of the 190 child victims, and other adults, remain unidentified due to advanced decomposition, referred to in court documents as "unknown male child," identified only by grave location and discovery date. Deaths were attributed to starvation, strangulation, and even bludgeoning.

Despite the immense suffering, Peter Shukrani maintained a conflicted loyalty, asserting that Mackenzie "didn't force anyone to fast" and was "a good person" whom he still loved and considered his pastor. This sentiment sharply contrasts with Dan Paul Mackenzie's firm belief that his father, as the leader, was a "murderer of mass killing." Mackenzie and other cult leaders face additional legal cases for terrorism, radicalization, and denying education to children, with sentencing for the murder charges due on November 6.