A Kenyan cult leader, Paul Mackenzie, has been sentenced to life in prison for his role in the deaths of 191 followers who starved themselves and their children to death in a forest. Mackenzie, the founder of the Good News International Church, instructed his followers to forgo food and water in the Shakahola forest to 'meet Jesus'.
The sentencing comes after months of grim discoveries in the coastal region of Kilifi, where authorities exhumed bodies from shallow graves in the forest. Investigators found that many victims, including children, had been starved to death. Some survivors found by police in the forest also refused to be rescued, citing their belief in Mackenzie's teachings.
Mackenzie was arrested in April 2023 after reports emerged of missing persons linked to his church. He had previously been charged with child cruelty but was released on bail before the mass starvation began. His followers were allegedly told to sell their possessions, quit their jobs, and travel to the coastal forest to prepare for the end of the world, which Mackenzie had predicted would occur on April 15, 2023.