A Kenyan court could sentence self-proclaimed pastor Paul Mackenzie to death on Friday after finding him responsible for a starvation cult that killed 190 children and one adult. For families who lost loved ones in the Shakahola Forest, however, no verdict can repair the damage—and some fear Mackenzie’s teachings could endure if he remains behind bars.
Stephen Mwiti lost all six of his children after their mother took them to the forest in 2022. Even an execution would not restore what he lost, the 48-year-old father said this week as he visited the grave of his son Samuel in Malindi, on Kenya’s coast.
- Advertisement -
“Even if he were to be hanged, I will never see my children again,” Mwiti told Reuters.
Samuel was about 7 when he entered the forest. He was the only one of Mwiti’s six children whose remains investigators were able to identify.
Severe decomposition hampered the identification process. Authorities have confirmed the identities of just 26 of more than 400 bodies recovered from the area.
Mwiti also fears that Mackenzie and his followers could continue influencing others from prison.
Stephen Mwiti, who lost six children to the Shakahola starvation cult, reacts at the grave of his son Samuel, the only one whose body was identified, ahead of the sentencing of cult leader Paul Mackenzie, who was found guilty of the murder of 190 children and one adult linked to the Shakahola starvation cult, at the Malindi cemetery, Kilifi County, Kenya, Nov. 3, 2026. (Reuters Photo)
He wants Mackenzie, his wife and the other co-defendants placed in solitary confinement so they cannot recruit fellow inmates or spread the movement’s beliefs.
The case, known as the Shakahola Forest Massacre, ranks among the deadliest cult-related tragedies in recent history. Prosecutors said Mackenzie directed followers to starve themselves and their children so they could reach heaven and meet Jesus before the end of the world.
Mackenzie and 28 co-defendants were convicted last month of murdering 190 children and an adult between January 2021 and September 2023. His lawyer has said he plans to appeal.
The former taxi driver has denied forcing anyone to starve. Most of his co-defendants, including Mwiti’s wife, also denied the accusations.
Mwiti dismissed that defense, asking how children could have chosen to take part in the fasting. He also cited evidence that some victims suffered physical violence.
Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Mackenzie (2nd R) stands with some of his co-accused during the arrival of the judge to deliver sentence at the Mombasa Law Courts, Mombasa, Kenya, Nov. 6, 2026. (AFP Photo)
“Assuming the adults he had converted agreed to fast without being forced, what about the children?” he said. “The post mortem even revealed that … Samuel died after being strangled. Was that also by will?”
Prosecutors seek death sentence
Kenya’s Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions has asked the court to impose the death penalty on Mackenzie, pointing to the exceptional number of deaths and the danger posed by his actions.
Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Jami Yamina said prosecutors supported capital punishment, while acknowledging that the court must weigh Mackenzie’s mitigation, remorse, regret and prospects for rehabilitation.
The death penalty remains legal in Kenya, but the country has not carried out an execution since 1987.
Prosecutors are seeking life sentences for Mackenzie’s co-defendants. They say the accused were heavily indoctrinated and could pose a risk of committing further offenses.
Justice Diana Kavedza Mochache arrives for the sentencing of Paul Mackenzie, a Kenyan cult leader accused of ordering his followers, who were members of the Good News International Church, to starve themselves to death in Shakahola forest, at the Mombasa High Court, Mombasa, Kenya, Nov. 6, 2026. (Reuters Photo)
Around 120 prosecution witnesses testified during the trial. Their accounts depicted a religious movement that rejected formal education as satanic, described modern medicine and hospitals as tools of the devil, and urged followers to cut themselves off from the outside world.
Authorities arrested Mackenzie in April 2023 after a rights organization alerted them to the situation. The warning led to the rescue of several followers from his 325-hectare (800-acre) ranch in Shakahola Forest.
Investigators subsequently uncovered hundreds of graves and bodies. The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights put the death toll at 429 in 2024, although some victims have not been identified.
Authorities said Mackenzie’s followers continued spreading his teachings after his arrest. Last year, investigators found dozens of additional bodies in a nearby village and linked them to the cult.
Those discoveries have deepened fears about the movement’s continuing influence and prompted questions over how it operated for so long without effective intervention.
Mackenzie had already been arrested twice and released. His history has fueled calls for stricter oversight of religious organizations and closer scrutiny of self-proclaimed religious leaders.
A father left with memories
For Mwiti, the court case offers little relief as he comes to terms with losing all six of his children.
Four years after he last saw them, ordinary encounters can reopen his grief. Children he passes while walking home from work sometimes remind him of the sons and daughters he lost, especially when they resemble them.
“When I leave work and come across children, I get startled,” he said. “At times, a child looks so much like one of my children that it shocks me.”
At Samuel’s grave, marked with a wooden cross, Mwiti held photographs of his children and several of their old school uniforms. He had hoped to bury the belongings with them, but they became among the few tangible reminders left to him.
“These are all the memories I have left,” he said.
Other relatives share his grief and anger. Francis Wanje, a 62-year-old teacher who lost two grandchildren, told AFP he hoped Mackenzie would receive the death penalty to help prevent another tragedy.
“Nothing can ease the pain,” Wanje said, while accusing authorities of failing to act sooner.
“I really have great (anger) towards the authorities. If they had taken action, we would not be here today,” he added.
Mackenzie also faces separate manslaughter and terrorism charges, which he denies.´ǻåöp0+§
