​Kenyan court issues verdict in mass murder trial of doomsday preacher Paul Mackenzie

A Kenyan judge has commenced delivering verdicts in the high-profile mass murder trial of doomsday preacher Paul Mackenzie and 29 of his followers, according to a report by the BBC.

​The accused face charges relating to the deaths of 191 people—all but one of whom were children—found in shallow graves across the Shakahola forest near Kenya’s coast. Prosecutors allege Mackenzie’s cult enforced strict fasting under a doctrine that outlawed modern medicine and education so followers could “meet Jesus.”

​While Mackenzie and his co-accused have pleaded not guilty and insisted no one was forced to die, authorities have uncovered over 400 bodies linked to the sect overall. Gravediggers and survivors recounted harrowing details of children with tied hands and neglected medical needs.

​Stephen Mwiti, a father who lost all six of his children to the cult, expressed fierce grief, stating, “All six of my children died in Shakahola forest… I only found and buried the remains of my son Samuel.” Meanwhile, Dan Mackenzie, the preacher’s son, broke from his father’s defense, telling the press: “He was the leader, he was someone who they were looking [up to]. So he is a murderer of mass killing.”

​Beyond the current mass murder charges, Mackenzie faces additional legal proceedings for terrorism, radicalisation, and child endangerment.