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Radio France Internationale
Radio France Internationale
World
RFI

Kenyan cult leader, assistants guilty on all charges over 191 starvation deaths

Paul Mackenzie, a Kenyan cult leader accused of ordering his followers,who were members of the Good News International Church, to starve themselves to death in Shakahola forest, appears in court for his judgement at the Mombasa High Court, Kenya, 19 October, 2026.
Paul Mackenzie, a Kenyan cult leader accused of ordering his followers,who were members of the Good News International Church, to starve themselves to death in Shakahola forest, appears in court for his judgement at the Mombasa High Court, Kenya, 19 October, 2026. REUTERS - Laban Walloga

A self-proclaimed Kenyan preacher and his associates were on Monday found guilty of murdering 191 people, mostly children, in an infamous starvation cult. Hundreds of bodies have been discovered since 2023 at the cult base inland from the Kenyan beach resort of Malindi, in what became known as the "Shakahola Forest Massacre".

Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Mackenzie was alleged to have incited his acolytes to starve to death in order to "meet Jesus".

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