The leader of the Kenyan "starvation cult" Paul Mackenzie alongside 28 others were declared guilty of murder by a Mombasa court on Monday over the deaths of 190 children and an adult in one of the world's worst cult-related tragedies in recent history.
The preacher was arrested in 2023 after police received a tip-off, and weeks later authorities began uncovering bodies in shallow graves in the Shakahola Forest near the coast in southeastern Kenya.
Prosecutors say Mackenzie and his Good News International Church organized a Christian doomsday sect in which they ordered followers to starve themselves and their children to death to go to heaven before the world ended.
The case has gripped Kenya since the discovery of the mass graves.
It raised questions over how Mackenzie was able to continue to operate despite having been on the radar of the authorities since 2017, when his premises were searched by police.
In 2019, authorities shut down Mackenzie's church and he relocated to the Shakahola Forest, police said.
Grandfather hails judgement
Mackenzie denied murder charges, saying he did not force the victims to starve, but the court rejected that argument.
He and the others convicted will be sentenced on Nov. 6. Defence lawyer Lawrence Obonyo, who represents Mackenzie and almost all of the others convicted, said he had been instructed to appeal.
Francis Wanje, 62, lost eight family members, including two grandchildren to the cult. He told Reuters that the judgment made him happy and gave him confidence in the judiciary.
"So many are going to learn from what has come up today. ... You find churches everywhere, but they've got ill reasons for the churches. So it is good for members of the public to be very careful," Wanje added.
Long hearing
In total, more than 400 bodies have been recovered from the Shakahola Forest.
Many of the children's bodies were severely decomposed, with only 26 able to be identified, and investigations into the other deaths are ongoing.
Justice Diana Kavedza Mochache said in a hearing lasting more than eight hours that, in some cases, children were isolated and denied food while their parents watched.
The director of public prosecutions, Renson Ingonga, told reporters afterwards at the Mombasa High Court: "That is the best judgment we would ever get."
Mackenzie silent
Mackenzie was in court, wearing a striped polo shirt and red trousers, sitting alongside his wife, one of the co-accused.
When his name was read out by the judge he was silent, staring into space.
The case has led to calls for tougher oversight of churches and other religious organizations in a country where religious faith plays a prominent role in public life.
Kenyan President William Ruto said in 2023 that government agencies should have been able to prevent the deaths. He said he took responsibility as president.