A judge in Mombasa, Kenya, has found Paul Mackenzie, the leader of Good News International Ministries, guilty of 191 counts of murder. All but one of the victims identified in these charges were children. Mackenzie was convicted alongside 28 other leaders of the group for their roles in the deaths, which occurred in the Shakahola forest. Mackenzie and his co-accused had pleaded not guilty, with some followers maintaining that the deaths were voluntary.
The convictions follow the 2023 discovery of more than 400 bodies in shallow graves within the Shakahola forest. Mackenzie established his ministry in 2003 and relocated followers to the forest after closing his main church in 2019. Prosecutors argued that Mackenzie instructed his followers to starve their children so they could "meet Jesus," while forbidding modern medicine and formal education. Justice Diana Mochache delivered the judgment over eight hours, describing how followers viewed Mackenzie as a divine messenger.
Testimony during the trial detailed the conditions inside the forest, where burials were referred to as "weddings" to signify a union with Jesus. A witness testified that Mackenzie ordered that those who resisted fasting be forced to comply through physical violence. Evidence from gravediggers described finding multiple bodies in single graves, including infants, with some remains showing signs of being bound with bedsheets. While many died of starvation, the court heard that others were strangled or bludgeoned to death.
For the Kenyan legal system, this case is the first time the pastor has faced a verdict on murder charges. Mackenzie and the other convicted leaders face additional pending legal cases involving charges of terrorism, radicalization, and the denial of education to children. The case also highlights the role of media in spreading such doctrines, as Mackenzie used a television station, Times TV, to broadcast sermons that characterized digital IDs as "the mark of the devil" and healthcare as "evil."
A sentencing hearing for Mackenzie and the 28 other convicted individuals is scheduled for November 6. The proceedings will determine the penalties for the murder convictions while the other criminal cases against the group's leadership continue through the court system. Families of the victims continue to await DNA results to identify remains.