A court in Mombasa, Kenya, will on Monday deliver a long-awaited verdict in the Shakahola sect murder trial. Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, a self-proclaimed pastor, is accused of forcing church members, including children, to starve themselves to death in order to meet Jesus. Three years after the tragedy, families of the victims are hoping for closure so they can finally mourn their loved ones.
In March 2023, a man reported to Kenyan police that relatives who had joined a new church had not come home. Authorities began searching the area, around the Shakahola forest, near the coastal town of Malindi – and found hundreds of shallow graves.
