Kenya court set to deliver verdict in 'doomsday cult' trial over 191 murder charges

A court in the Kenyan city of Mombasa is expected to deliver a verdict in the trial of self-proclaimed pastor Paul Mackenzie and his co-defendants, who are accused in connection with the deaths of 191 people, 190 of them children. It is the first ruling in the case widely referred to in the media as the "doomsday cult" trial.

According to the charges, Mackenzie and several followers face murder counts after his church was suspected of forcing children to starve so they could "meet Jesus." The defendants deny the allegations and have also rejected other charges in related cases, including terrorism, radicalization and preventing children from attending school.

Who is Mackenzie?

Paul Mackenzie was the head of Good News International Ministries, a doomsday sect he and his wife founded in 2003 in the coastal city of Malindi in southeastern Kenya. Before that, he worked as a taxi driver in Nairobi.

The church drew thousands of followers through branches across Kenya and through people who tuned in to Mackenzie's fiery sermons on its Times TV channel. According to reports, he persuaded followers that he could converse with God; some were said to have sold their belongings to donate to the church.

Mackenzie preached doomsday conspiracy theories, branded education "evil" and barred children from going to school. He forbade followers from taking medicine, which he said was contrary to "doctrine," and encouraged them to burn birth certificates and digital identity documents. His sermons also carried anti-Western themes, including condemnation of the United States, the United Nations and even the Catholic Church.

Kenyan authorities began paying attention to Mackenzie's operation in the late 2010s. After his church and television station were shut down in 2019, Mackenzie moved to the Shakahola forest in Kilifi County, about 70 km from Malindi. Some followers moved with him and settled in mud houses in the vast forest.

What is Mackenzie accused of?

In 2023, authorities received a tip from a man whose wife and daughter had also moved to the remote forest. A police investigation led to the discovery of shallow mass graves in the forest, believed to be linked to the sect.

Officers also found dozens of surviving members in a state of severe emaciation. Some told police that Mackenzie had ordered them to starve until they "met Jesus."

Most of the bodies exhumed were those of children. According to authorities, some victims also died from strangulation or blunt-force injuries, and some who tried to leave the sect were attacked. Others were found with their hands and feet bound.

In total, 429 deaths were recorded, including many people who died later in hospital. Hundreds of people are still listed as missing.

According to survivors, Mackenzie is not believed to have starved himself. They said that under his orders, children were made to fast first, followed by unmarried women, then men, and finally church leaders.

Authorities accuse Mackenzie of inciting a mass starvation campaign that led to the deaths. In January 2024, he was charged with 191 counts of murder, and his church was designated an "organized criminal group."

How the case has unfolded

Mackenzie and 34 others, including other church leaders, were arrested and charged with murder and terrorism-related offenses. Enos Amanya Ngala, Mackenzie's former head of security, was among the defendants but pleaded guilty under a plea agreement and agreed to testify for the prosecution.

At a 2024 hearing in Kenya's High Court, the court asked prosecutors to reduce the number of counts to 12 to speed up proceedings. Mackenzie and his co-defendants deny all charges.

Authorities initially brought 65 rescued victims to court on charges of attempted suicide, an offense punishable by two years in prison in Kenya. A Mombasa court later ordered that they be held in a rescue and monitoring center after many were said to have refused food.

While in custody, Mackenzie was linked to 52 additional deaths after authorities alleged he lured more victims to their deaths by writing letters from his prison cell.