The High Court of Mombasa on Monday, October 19, found Paul Nthenge Mackenzie and 28 co-defendants guilty of the murder of 190 children and one adult in the Shakahola case, in Kenya’s Kilifi County. Judge Diana Kavedza Mochache declared them guilty on all 191 charges brought against them, following a trial that began after the discovery of hundreds of bodies in 2023.
Paul Mackenzie, founder of the Good News International Church, and the other convicted individuals are to learn their sentences on November 6. They had pleaded not guilty and argued that the victims had not been forced to die, a claim rejected by the court.
The court ruled that religious teachings and a structured organization had been used to direct and then enforce a deadly fast. According to the Kenyan prosecutor’s report, the faithful were first encouraged to join the camp before being ordered to fast, while local officials conveyed the instructions and monitored their implementation.
The prosecution relied on 123 witnesses as well as recordings, content published on social networks, medical and forensic reports, DNA analyses, and seized evidence. The events under trial took place between January 2021 and September 2023.
The court also found that the children had been targeted first and that guards were preventing departures or access to food. Paul Mackenzie, for his part, claimed not to have forced anyone to die, according to the trial records.
More than 400 bodies have been found since April 2023 in shallow graves in Shakahola. The ruling issued on Monday concerns 191 deaths, while investigations into the other victims continue. Twenty-six bodies had been formally identified at the time of the decision.
The procedure had involved a debate over the number of charges. In April 2025, the Court of Appeal authorized the prosecution to maintain the 191 counts of murder, overturning a decision that had called for their reduction.
