New charges have hit a cult leader who led more than 400 of his followers to death in a mass starvation ritual. Pastor Paul Mackenzie urged his followers to starve to death so they could ‘meet Jesus’
A cult leader who led more than 400 of his followers to death in a massive ritual styled killing – making them starve themselves to “meet Jesus” – has been hit with charges for 52 more deaths after a new mass grave was discovered.
Paul Mackenzie, a self-proclaimed pastor and founder of Good News International Ministries, an apocalyptic Christian group, led his followers in an infamous starvation cult which killed more than 400 people. Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki alleged Mackenzie hired criminals armed with crude weapons to kill followers who changed their minds about fasting and wanted out, alongside those who took too long to die.
Dubbed the Shakahola Forest Massacre, the horrific ritual cult starvation took place near the beach resort of Malindi, Kenya, coming to light in 2023. The newest charges allege Mackenzie – who has been in custody since his arrest in 2023 – has been luring the latest victims to their deaths by writing notes from his prison cell.
In a statement on X on The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions confirmed it had received the go-ahead to “formally charge Good News International Church leader Paul Nthenge Mackenzie and his co-accused over the deaths of 52 people at the Binzaro homestead in Kilifi County”.
Prosecutors added Mackenzie was “reasonably suspected to have masterminded” the incidents and had used “radical teachings and coordinated structures to lure victims” to the remote village.
The statement continued: “Investigators recovered handwritten notes from [prison] cells occupied by Mackenzie, allegedly detailing transactions conducted through mobile phones.”
Mackenzie was arrested in 2023 after 429 bodies, including children, were dug up from mass graves in the remote Shakahola forest, and has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of manslaughter.
The newest charges to hit Mackenzie are the latest in a long list of including radicalisation, “facilitation of terrorist acts,” and murder. The discovery of the new bodies appear to show the same cult had continued to operate even after the first massacre site was discovered and Mackenzie arrested.
The development comes two weeks after one of Mackenzie’s co-accused and the former head of security at the Shakahola forest massacre, Enos Amanya Ngala, pleaded guilty to charges related to the deaths of 191 children discovered in the original mass graves.
Survivors of the horrific cult massacre have said children were supposed to be the first to starve themselves, according to orders drawn up by Mackenzie. After them the unmarried, women, men, and finally the leaders of the church.