Kenyan cult leader guilty on all charges over 191 starvation deaths

MOMBASA, Kenya — A self-proclaimed Kenyan preacher and his associates were on Monday found guilty of murdering 190 children and one adult in an infamous starvation cult. Hundreds of bodies have been discovered since 2023 at the cult base inland from the Kenyan beach resort of Malindi, in what became known as the "Shakahola Forest Massacre". Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Mackenzie was alleged to have incited his acolytes to starve to death in order to "meet Jesus". He was impassive in the open-air Mombasa courtroom as he and 28 others were found guilty of murder. "I am satisfied that the prosecution has proved the case against all the 29 accused persons for the murder of 190 children and one adult," judge Diana Kavedza Mochache said. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions welcomed the "momentous" verdict, with director Renson Ingonga telling reporters: "Getting a conviction of such counts...is not something that comes that easily". In the three years since the grisly discovery, more bodies of children, women and men have been unearthed, bringing the total to well over 400. Mackenz