World · 2026-10-20 · Morning briefing
Kenyan cult leader guilty of murdering 190 children
A Kenyan court has found Paul Mackenzie, a doomsday preacher, and around 30 followers guilty of murdering 190 children and one adult. Mackenzie’s Good News International Church instructed members to starve themselves and their children to death in order to reach heaven before a predicted apocalypse. The verdict is a milestone in one of the world's worst modern cult-related disasters.
The judgment covers 191 of more than 400 bodies recovered from shallow graves in the Shakahola forest since 2023; only 26 have been identified due to severe decomposition. The case has prompted scrutiny of Kenyan authorities, as Mackenzie had been known to them since 2017. His church was shut down in 2019, but he relocated to the forest, and was even arrested and released on bail just before the full scale of the deaths was uncovered.
Summary written by Cup of News with AI from the sources below. Check the originals for the full story.
Read the sources
- Starvation cult leader found guilty of murder of 190 children
- Kenya Cult Leader, Who Convinced Followers To Starve, Found Guilty Of 191 Murders
- Kenyan death cult leader Paul Mackenzie found guilty of 191 murder charges
- Kenyan court convicts cult leader Paul Mackenzie of murdering 190 children, 1 adult
- Kenyan cult leader found guilty of murdering 190 children and one adult in mass starvation case
Ten stories, twice a day. Calm, no notifications.
Get the appMore stories in this edition
- Houthi missile strike kills over 50 security recruits in Yemen
- Alberta voters decisively reject separation from Canada
- Japan launches mission to sample Martian moon Phobos
- US bars Chinese AI firm DeepSeek from government systems
- Europe sees record West Nile Virus cases as disease moves north
- Fourteen killed in landslide at illegal Colombian mine
- Pakistan trims GDP growth forecast to 3.65% for FY26
- Argentina's military spending hits US$445m under Milei
- Moscow State University expels Chinese student over Japanese flag stunt