Kenyan court convicts church leader Mackenzie and 28 others over 191 starvation deaths
In short
Kenya's High Court in Mombasa on 19 October found church leader Paul Nthenge Mackenzie and 28 co-defendants guilty of killing 191 people, 190 of them children. Sentencing is scheduled for 6 November. Mackenzie's lawyer said the defence will appeal.
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The High Court in Mombasa, Kenya, found Paul Nthenge Mackenzie and 28 co-defendants guilty on 19 October (local time) of killing 191 people, 190 of them children and one an adult. Yonhap, citing the BBC and the Kenyan daily Kenya Times, said Judge Diana Kavedza Mochache delivered the verdict. Sentencing is set for 6 November. [ 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 ]
Mackenzie was arrested in April 2023 in the coastal city of Malindi, accused of forcing followers of his church to starve so they could meet Jesus. A search of Shakahola Forest near the church turned up more than 400 bodies. Newsis and Dong-A Ilbo, citing the Guardian and BBC, said the bodies were found in shallow graves and many were badly decomposed, making identification difficult. A man who took part in the digging said 12 children's bodies were found in a row in one grave, and some children were bound at the hands and feet and wrapped in cloth or bed sheets. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
According to Newsis and Dong-A Ilbo, Mackenzie founded the church in 2003, branded education and modern medicine evil and preached that followers must fast to reach heaven before the end of the world. Yonhap said prosecutors described a 'hierarchy of death' under which children were to die first, then adolescents, women and men. Most children died of hunger, but some died of suffocation or trauma. The judge said followers believed Mackenzie was Jesus's spokesman. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
Electronic Times reported testimony that the group called burials 'weddings'. A witness said a woman was told not to nurse her newborn, who died at 12 days old. Stephen Mwiti, who lost all six of his children, told the BBC he was glad everyone was convicted. Electronic Times added that his former wife was among those convicted. [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]
Mackenzie and his co-defendants denied the charges. Newsis and Dong-A Ilbo said Mackenzie denied forcing followers to fast and other defendants said the deaths resulted from the victims' own choices. Seoul Economic Daily reported that his lawyer said the defence would appeal and was confident the verdict would be overturned. Mackenzie also faces charges linked to 52 more bodies found in January and, according to other outlets, terrorism-related and other charges. Yonhap said he was arrested in 2017 and acquitted, and arrested again in 2019 over the deaths of two children and released on bail. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
Why it matters
The verdict comes about three years after the case emerged, according to Korean outlets, and sentencing is still to come. The documents say investigations into other bodies and separate charges, including terrorism-related ones, are continuing.
Key facts
- The Mombasa High Court, in a ruling by Judge Diana Kavedza Mochache, convicted Paul Nthenge Mackenzie and 28 co-defendants on 19 October (local time). [ 1 , 2 , 6 ]
- The charges concerned the killing of 191 people: 190 children and one adult. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- Sentencing is scheduled for 6 November. [ 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 ]
- More than 400 bodies were recovered from Shakahola Forest, near Malindi, after Mackenzie's arrest in 2023. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- Mackenzie founded his church in 2003. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- Mackenzie and the other defendants denied the charges. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 6 ]
- Mackenzie's lawyer said the defence will appeal. [ 6 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Mackenzie and 28 co-defendants were found guilty over the deaths of 191 people, 190 of them children and one an adult. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- The sentence is due on 6 November. [ 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 ]
- More than 400 bodies were found in Shakahola Forest after the 2023 arrest. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- The judge said Mackenzie's followers believed he was Jesus's spokesman. [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- Mackenzie and the co-defendants denied the charges. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 6 ]
Still unclear
- Whether Mackenzie will succeed on appeal. Only one outlet reports that his lawyer said the defence will appeal and expects the verdict to be overturned.
- The identity of the remaining bodies found in Shakahola Forest. Three outlets say many bodies were badly decomposed and hard to identify, and that investigation into the remaining bodies continues; the 191 deaths covered by the verdict are the only identified victims named.
- The outcome of the other charges against Mackenzie. Outlets say he faces further charges, including terrorism-related ones, radicalisation and denying children education, and charges tied to 52 more bodies found in January; no verdicts are reported.
- The name of the church. Four outlets call it the Good News International Church, while Electronic Times calls it Good News International Ministries.