Kenya: Verdict expected for cult leader accused of starving 191 followers to death

The Mombasa High Court is due to deliver its verdict on October 19 in the trial of preacher Paul Mackenzie and 29 co-defendants, accused of the murder of 191 people, many of them children. The case concerns a religious movement linked to extreme fasting practices in Shakahola Forest, in Kilifi County. Since 2023, exhumations have uncovered at least 429 bodies, some of which remain unidentified. Prosecutors say Mackenzie imposed a hierarchy that prioritized the deaths of children, while autopsies report deaths from starvation.