19 October 2026
Kenyan starvation cult leader guilty of murder of 190 children and one adult

Paul Mackenzie and his church set up sect that ordered followers to starve themselves and their children, say prosecutors A Kenyan court has found the starvation cult leader Paul Mackenzie and about 30 others guilty of murder over the deaths of 190 children and one adult in one of the world’s worst cult-related disasters in recent history. Mackenzie was arrested in 2023 after police received a tipoff, and weeks later authorities began uncovering bodies in shallow graves in the Shakahola forest near the coast in south-eastern Kenya.
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