A Kenyan pastor and 29 of his followers have been charged with the murder of 191 people, including 190 children, after authorities discovered hundreds of bodies in shallow graves. Paul Mackenzie, the self-proclaimed leader of the Good News International Ministries cult, appeared in court to face the charges alongside his co-defendants.
The charges follow the discovery of over 400 bodies in shallow graves in the Shakahola Forest, near the coast of Kenya. Mackenzie and his followers pleaded not guilty to the murder charges.
The Cult and Its Alleged Practices
Mackenzie, a former taxi driver, founded his cult in 2003 and gradually gained popularity and influence in Kenya, eventually attracting thousands of followers to branches across the country. He had a TV channel called Times TV, where he broadcast his End Day sermons, often filled with conspiracy theories. He called education "evil" and described medical care as "against the doctrine."
In 2019, Mackenzie shut down the church operation and moved to the Shakahola Forest, where he allegedly lured his devoted followers to join him. The cult has been accused of convincing parents to let their children starve to death so they could "meet Jesus."
Discovery and Investigation
An investigation was launched in 2023 when local herders discovered the remains. By 2025, prosecutors said they had recovered more than 400 bodies from shallow graves in the Shakahola Forest, in Kilifi County. Autopsies revealed that most had died of hunger, but some, including children, appeared to have been beaten, suffocated, or strangled. Many bodies remain unidentified due to extreme decomposition.
Mackenzie also faces other charges, including terrorism, denying children education, and radicalisation. One local gravedigger, James, paid to uncover the bodies, claimed some remains included those of babies. He said: "Every grave we found had at least three bodies. Some of the remains were of children as young as a few weeks old. We once found 12 bodies of children in a line inside a grave. It was massive, the bodies were arranged like clothes. One on top of another."
Impact on Families
Another digger, Salim Karisa, claimed some people died as they were rescued from the forest. He said: "We would carry someone out of the forest but they were so frail that they would die in our arms."
Stephen Mwiti, 48, said he lost all six of his children to the cult. Mwiti's former wife moved into the forest with the cult leader and is one of the co-accused. He said: "All six of my children died in Shakahola forest. I only found and buried the remains of my son Samuel." Mwiti said the pastor's TV appearances started his wife's descent into the doomsday cult. He added: "If I met Pastor Mackenzie today, one of us would have to die."
