Who is cult leader Paul Mackenzie, accused of convincing followers to die?

EXPLAINER

A Kenyan court has handed down the first judgement in the ‘doomsday’ cult case.

A court in the Kenyan city of Mombasa has found a self-proclaimed pastor and his associates and nearly 30 of his associated guilty of the murder of 191 people, all but one of whom were children.

Paul Mackenzie and several of his followers were charged with murder after his cult was alleged to have forced children to starve so they could “meet Jesus”.

Before Monday’s verdict, the accused had pleaded not guilty and also denied charges in other cases, including terrorism, radicalisation and stopping children from attaining an education.

Here’s what you should know:

Who is Mackenzie?

Mackenzie was the head of the apocalyptic Good News International Ministries, which he established with his wife in 2003 in the southeastern coastal city of Malindi. Before that, he was a taxi driver in Nairobi.

The church drew thousands of followers across its many branches in Kenya, with devotees also following Mackenzie’s fiery sermons broadcast on the church television station, Times TV.

He reportedly convinced followers he could speak to God. Some of them are believed to have sold off property to donate to the church.

Mackenzie preached doomsday conspiracy theories of education as being “evil”, with children forbidden from attending school. He banned his followers from using medication because it was against religious “doctrine” and encouraged followers to burn birth certificates and digital IDs. His preaching was also anti-Western, including condemnation of the United States, the United Nations and even the Catholic Church.

Authorities began to scrutinise Mackenzie’s establishment in the late 2010s.

After his church and TV station were forced to shut down in 2019, he moved to the Shakahola forest in Kilifi County, about 70 kilometres (43.4 miles) from Malindi. Some of his devotees relocated with him to live in mud houses in the vast forest.

What is Mackenzie accused of?

In 2023, authorities were tipped off by a man whose wife and daughter had also relocated to the remote forest.

Police investigations led to shallow mass graves in the forest linked to the cult group. Authorities also found dozens of other emaciated surviving members in the forest. Some told police that Mackenzie had ordered them to starve themselves until they “meet Jesus”.

Most of the bodies exhumed were of children. Some of the victims also died of strangulation or blunt trauma, authorities said, adding that some people who tried to leave the cult were attacked. Others were found with their hands and legs bound together.

A total of 429 deaths were reported, including many others who later died in hospital. Hundreds are still declared missing.

Mackenzie is not believed to have starved himself. Survivors said that according to his orders, children were to starve themselves, followed by unmarried women, men, and last of all, church leaders.

Authorities accused Mackenzie of instigating a mass starvation campaign that led to the deaths. In January 2024, Mackenzie was charged with 191 counts of murder and his church was proscribed as an “organised criminal group”.

What’s happened in the case so far?

Mackenzie, along with 34 others, including other leaders of the church, were arrested and charged with murder and terrorism-related offences.

Enos Amanya Ngala, Mackenzie’s former head of security, was one of the accused, but he entered a guilty plea deal and agreed to stand as a witness for the prosecution.

At a 2024 hearing at the Kenya High Court, the court urged prosecutors to reduce the charges to 12 to speed up the process. Mackenzie and his colleagues pleaded not guilty to the crimes.

Officials also initially arraigned 65 rescued victims on charges of attempted suicide, which carries a two-year sentence in Kenya. A court in Mombasa ordered they be remanded in a rescue centre and monitored, after many reportedly rejected food.

While in jail, Mackenzie was accused of involvement in another 52 deaths after officials said he was luring more victims to their deaths by writing notes from his prison cell.