On October 19, 2026, a Kenyan court in Mombasa found Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, the leader of the Good News International Church, and 28 co-accused guilty of 191 counts of murder, encompassing the deaths of 190 children and one adult. Lady Justice Diana Kavedza Mochache presided over the judgment, rejecting Mackenzie's defense that the victims willingly fasted.

This verdict brings accountability for a mass tragedy where followers were instructed to starve themselves to death. The case has also revealed ongoing familial impacts, with Mackenzie's own son reporting his grandmother weeks before the verdict to protect younger siblings from similar practices.

What the records show

The court affirmed that Mackenzie instructed followers, including children, to starve themselves to death to "meet Jesus" in the Shakahola Forest, Kilifi County. The period of these deaths spanned from January 2021 to September 2023. Investigations began in April 2023, leading to the exhumation of over 400 bodies from mass graves in the forest. The judgment explicitly states Mackenzie oversaw "an organized system that used religious teachings to compel followers to fast until they died". Sentencing for Mackenzie and the co-defendants is scheduled for November 6, 2026.

The timeline

Mackenzie founded the Good News International Church, also known as Good News International Ministries, in 2003. The church propagated an apocalyptic doomsday theology that dismissed essential services such as healthcare, education, and sports as "evils of western life". Following the discovery of mass graves, the Kenyan government designated Good News International Ministries as an organized criminal group on January 31, 2024, under the Prevention of Organized Crimes Act. Mackenzie had been in police custody since mid-April 2023 following the initial discoveries.

What changed and for whom

Weeks prior to the murder verdict, on October 7, 2026, Mackenzie's mother, Mama Anastacia Mumwele Mackenzie, was arrested in Malindi. Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officers rescued eight children from her custody, including five of Mackenzie's own children and three relatives. The children, aged six to fourteen, were reportedly withdrawn from school and subjected to forced religious fasting. This intervention was prompted by a tip-off from Paul Nthenge Mackenzie's firstborn son, Dan Mackenzie. Dan Mackenzie reported his grandmother to protect his younger siblings, stating he "felt he had to report his own grandmother" despite initially defending his father.

What the subject has said publicly

Paul Nthenge Mackenzie's defense, presented during the trial, was that the victims had willingly fasted. However, the court explicitly rejected this claim, affirming that he instructed his followers to starve themselves.

What we could not confirm

We could not confirm the current legal status or specific charges, if any, against Mama Anastacia Mumwele Mackenzie following her arrest.