Kenyan cult leader Paul Mackenzie and 28 co-accused convicted of murdering 191 people, 190 of them children
TRT World and Pulse Kenya reported that a court in Mombasa convicted Paul Mackenzie and 28 co-accused of murder on Monday 19 October over the Shakahola forest deaths. The Sydney Morning Herald and Brisbane Times reported that the finding covered 191 victims, 190 of them children who starved. Pulse Kenya reported that Justice Diana Kavedza-Mochache rejected the defence claim that the victims fasted voluntarily. Police found shallow graves and malnourished survivors in the forest in Kilifi County, and more than 400 bodies had been recovered by 2025, according to the reports. Autopsies showed most victims died of hunger, while others appeared to have been strangled, beaten or suffocated, Pulse Kenya said. Probation reports are due on Friday 30 October and sentencing is set for Friday 6 November, Pulse Kenya reported.
The ruling that the victims did not fast voluntarily rejects the central defence argument and treats the deaths as murder rather than a religious choice. It also puts pressure on Kenyan authorities over how the group operated unchecked for months before the graves were found.
The case is a reminder to check any group that demands isolation, fasting or the surrender of money and children. Families worried about a relative in such a group can contact local police or child protection services.
Prosecutors, as reported by Pulse Kenya, argued that Mackenzie ordered followers to starve and secured the convictions on 191 counts.
Mackenzie denied the murder charges and said he had not forced followers to starve, according to the reports, and sentencing could still be contested.
Confirmed: convictions of 29 people on 191 murder counts, reported by TRT World, Pulse Kenya and the Sydney Morning Herald. Not confirmed: the sentences, and the outcome of other proceedings Mackenzie faces. Watch Friday 30 October for the probation reports and Friday 6 November for sentencing.
DailyDrop Australia edition No. 17 · Morning · WED., OCT. 21, 2026