Shakahola mass murder: Paul Mackenzie faces judgment day

Allan Kisia

October 19, 2026 2 min read

Doomsday preacher Paul Mackenzie listens as Mombasa High Court Judge Lady Justice Diana Kavedza-Mochache delivers judgment in mass murder case on October 19, 2026/JOHN CHESOLI

Mombasa High court Judge Justice Diana Mochache is delivering a judgement in a mass murder case involving doomsday preacher Paul Mackenzie.

Mackenzie and 29 of his followers are being charged with the murder of 191 people, nearly all of them children.

His cult is alleged to have forced children to starve to death so that they could "meet Jesus". His doomsday doctrine claimed education was forbidden and modern medicine was considered "evil".

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The preacher and the 29 others have all pleaded not guilty to murder, repeatedly insisting that nobody was forced to die.

Some of the other legal cases they are facing include terrorism, radicalisation and denying education to children.

But this is the first time the pastor will face a verdict on the most serious charges of murder.

Authorities said over 400 bodies were found in shallow graves in Shakahola forest near the Kenyan coast, where Mackenzie led his followers from across the country.