A Mombasa court is set to deliver judgement on Monday, October 19, in the murder case against Kenyan preacher Paul Nthenge Mackenzie and 29 co-accused. Mackenzie, leader of the Good News International Church, and his followers face 191 counts of murder linked to the deaths of children whose bodies were recovered from mass graves in Shakahola Forest, Kilifi County. ALSO READ: Kenyan cult deaths hit 226 as 15 more bodies exhumed Eleven of the children have been identified; 180 remain unidentified. The alleged offences occurred between January 2021 and September 2023. Prosecutors say Mackenzie directed extreme fasting so followers could “meet Jesus.” Education and modern medicine were forbidden under his teachings. ALSO READ: Six chilling cults that terrified the world Mackenzie and his co-accused have pleaded not guilty, stating that no one was forced to die and that the fasting was voluntary. Lady Justice Diana Kavedza-Mochache is scheduled to deliver the judgement at the Mombasa Law Courts. More than 400 bodies in total were recovered from the area.
