Kenya court convicts pastor, 28 others in deaths of 191 people
What's next: Paul Mackenzie and the other defendants are due to be sentenced on Nov. 6, while investigations into more than 400 bodies continue.
A court in Mombasa convicted Kenyan pastor Paul Mackenzie and 28 co-defendants of murder over the starvation deaths of 191 people in the Shakahola forest case, one of the country’s worst cult tragedies. Judges found that nearly all the victims were children and said followers were pushed to starve themselves or their children so they could “meet Jesus.” Authorities arrested Mackenzie in 2023 after mass graves were uncovered near Kenya’s coast. More than 400 bodies have since been recovered, though many remain unidentified. The case has fueled scrutiny of how Mackenzie’s Good News International Church kept operating after earlier police action and has prompted calls for tighter oversight of religious groups.