Controversial preacher Paul Nthenge Mackenzie and 28 co-accused have been convicted of murdering 191 people, including 190 children, in the Shakahola massacre in Kilifi County.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Renson Ingonga, secured the convictions following a judgment delivered by Mombasa High Court Judge Diana Kavedza on Monday, October 19, 2026.
The court found the 29 accused persons guilty of 191 murder counts arising from deaths that occurred between January 2021 and September 2023 at Shakahola, Malindi Sub-County.
In her ruling, Justice Kavedza found that the deaths resulted from an organised system in which religious teachings, a structured hierarchy and coordinated instructions were used to direct and enforce deadly fasting among followers of Mackenzie.
“The evidence before me establishes precisely such a development. Mackenzie’s followers were first whipped through an established religious and communications network. They were subsequently directed to relocate. Once at the settlement, they were directed to fast,” the judge ruled.
The court heard that instructions to fast to death were passed through village elders and reinforced during regular meetings. The fasting reportedly occurred in stages, beginning with children, while guards controlled movement and kept followers from leaving the settlement.
Justice Kavedza also found that Good News International Church, founded by Mackenzie in 2010, operated as a cult. Evidence presented in court showed that the preacher promoted teachings about the imminent end of the world, discouraged modern medicine and formal education, and isolated followers from outsiders.
The prosecution further presented evidence that children were restrained, denied food and punished for attempting to eat or escape. Witnesses described the suffering and deaths of their siblings and other minors within the settlement.
The case was supported by testimony from 123 witnesses, including child victims and adult accomplice witnesses, alongside digital recordings, social media content, medical and forensic reports, DNA analysis, physical exhibits, journals recovered from deceased persons and expert testimony.
Medical evidence presented during the trial linked 76 deaths to starvation, while 112 were attributed to unascertained causes. One death resulted from a traumatic head injury, another from manual neck compression, and a further death from asphyxia with features of starvation.
The prosecution also presented evidence from postmortem examinations, with witness Dr Njoroge producing 190 postmortem samples relating to deceased minors.
Investigators established that bodies had been exhumed from graves across several homesteads and mass graves. One mass grave contained 12 bodies, while another burial site had several graves holding 63 bodies.
The court also considered evidence that the accused conducted burial rites at unusual hours to avoid detection and that they divided the settlement into 12 villages to facilitate administration and enforcement of the fasting directives.
Mackenzie’s deputy pastor, Smart Deri Mwakalama, Stephen Sanga Muye and 26 others were among those convicted alongside the controversial preacher.
Two other accused persons, Kelvin Saudi Asena and Edison Safari Mnyambo, died during the trial, prompting the prosecution to withdraw the murder charges against them.
The prosecution team was led by Ingonga and included Peter Kiprop, Head of the Coast Region, Jami Yamina, Victor Owiti, Ngina Mutua, Betty Rubia and Yassir Mohammed.
The convictions mark a major development in the Shakahola case, which exposed the dangers of extremist religious teachings and the exploitation of vulnerable followers. The court's findings highlight the role of witness testimony, forensic investigations and medical evidence in establishing criminal responsibility for the deaths.