Crimeupdated 47m ago2 min read
Paul Mackenzie Convicted Of 191 Murders In Kenya’s Mombasa Court
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Paul Mackenzie convicted of 191 murders, 190 children and 1 adult. Cult followers starved themselves in Shakahola forest to 'meet Jesus'.
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Mackenzie Convicted
A Kenyan court in Mombasa found self-proclaimed preacher Paul Mackenzie guilty of murdering 191 people, all but one of them children, after prosecutors said he ordered members of his starvation cult to starve their children to death so they could "meet Jesus." Justice Diana Mochache delivered an eight-hour judgement in the port city of Mombasa, and the BBC reported that Mackenzie and 28 other leaders were convicted of murder. The court also convicted Mackenzie and 28 associates on 191 murder counts, and the DW said the verdict came three years after the Shakahola Forest Massacre tragedy shocked Kenya.
The CBS News account said the judge told the court, "I am satisfied that the prosecution has proved the case against all the 29 accused persons for the murder of 190 children and one adult." The AP News report said the leader of the Kenyan doomsday cult that left more than 400 followers dead was convicted of 191 murders.
Doctrine, Violence, Appeals
Mackenzie ordered members of his cult to starve their children to death so they could "meet Jesus," and his doctrine forbade education and called modern medicine "evil." A co-accused said Mackenzie told followers that anyone who "resisted the directive to fast must be forced to go to heaven through kicks and blows." The court found the deaths resulted from an "organised system in which religious teachings and an established hierarchy were used to direct and enforce deadly fasting" among Mackenzie27s followers.
Mackenzie27s attorney Lawrence Obonyo told reporters the defense team planned to appeal, saying his client maintained that he hadn27t forced anyone to fast and that the victims27 actions were voluntary. Mackenzie denied murder charges, saying he did not force the victims to starve, but the court rejected that argument.
Aftermath and Accountability
Authorities started digging up bodies in Shakahola forest in April 2023 and recovered 429 bodies so far, with further charges potentially to follow. More than 400 bodies have been recovered from the Shakahola forest, and only 26 of them were able to be identified. Lady Justice Diana Kavedza-Mochache told the court, "Where starvation did not produce death, the children were killed by hand."
Stephen Mwiti, 48, told the BBC outside court, "I'm a happy man, that all persons have been convicted," and he said, "All six of my children died in Shakahola forest." The AP News report said the conviction came after the cult left more than 400 followers dead, and it described the case as involving 191 murders.