What is the story of Pastor Paul Mackenzie and what was he charged with?

The following article mentions child abuse and contains graphic depictions of murder. Please read with caution.

A Kenyan former taxi driver turned religious leader known as Pastor Paul Mackenzie was charged with child murder in early 2024, stemming from 191 children’s bodies recovered from land linked with Mackenzie in the Shakahola Forest of Kenya.

Mackenzie, a televangelist with an online presence who founded Good News International Ministries, an alleged cult, reportedly preached doomsday prophecy, and is accused of encouraging his followers to starve themselves to prepare for an oncoming apocalypse. If they did, Mackenzie said they would meet Jesus when end-times came, according to the prosecution.

Not all of Mackenzie’s followers died, but some who survived refused to eat. As of this report, DNA testing was underway to identify all of the human remains recovered from Mackenzie’s property. At least 300 bodies, including those of 191 children, were found on the 800 acres of land in Kenya’s Shakahola Forest.

Most victims recovered, including both adults and children, were starved, but The New York Times says others were strangled, bludgeoned, or had their organs removed. At the time Mackenzie and the others were charged, hundreds of the alleged cult followers remained unaccounted for.

Mackenzie pleaded not guilty

In total, Paul Mackenzie and 29 others involved in the alleged cult pleaded not guilty to murder charges linked with the 191 children’s deaths. As of this report, Mackenzie and the others were expected back in court on March 7, 2024, for a bond hearing. All the defendants, including Mackenzie, as well as survivors, underwent mental health evaluations. One defendant was ruled unfit to stand trial. As well as the child murder charges, Mackenzie and as many as 95 others involved in the alleged cult faced separate charges of manslaughter, terrorism, and torture, CBS News reported.

Victor Kaudo, a rights activist who worked to save some of Mackenzie’s followers, told The New York Times, “I wanted these starving people to survive, but they wanted to die and meet Jesus … What do we do? Does freedom of worship supersede the right to life?”

The incident that some in Kenya now call the “Shakahola Massacre” has created controversy in the relatively prosperous sub-Saharan African country, where Kenya’s president, William Ruto, seems unwilling to restrict religious practices. However, Kithure Kindiki, Kenya’s interior minister, called MacKenzie’s Good News International Ministries “an organized criminal group.”

In late 2023, Mackenzie was also sentenced to one year in prison for possessing, distributing, and producing films without a license, Citizen TV Kenya reported.