Shakahola Cult Leader Paul Mackenzie Arrives in Court Under Heavy Security Ahead of Sentencing Over 191 Murders

Shakahola cult leader Paul Mackenzie has arrived at a Mombasa court under extremely tight security, ahead of a long-awaited verdict in one of Kenya's most harrowing criminal cases.

The self-proclaimed pastor was driven to court aboard a heavily fortified prison bus, flanked by a large contingent of police officers and prison warders.

The heightened security reflected the scale of the case and the intense public attention it has drawn, both within Kenya and around the world.

Mackenzie faces 119 counts of murder, alongside additional charges of manslaughter and terrorism, all of which he has pleaded not guilty to in separate proceedings.

Lady Justice Diana Kavedza is set to deliver judgment in a case that has gripped the nation since 2023, when hundreds of bodies were discovered inland from the coastal town of Malindi, in what became known as the Shakahola Forest Massacre.

Mackenzie and his co-accused pleaded not guilty to 191 counts of murder when the case first opened in 2024. Since then, further excavations in the forest have pushed the death toll past 400, with children, women and men among the victims.

Relatives of those who died were expected to make the journey from rural communities along the coast to attend the sentencing in person.

Mackenzie is accused of inciting his followers to starve themselves to death, telling them that doing so would allow them to "meet Jesus."

The case has left many Kenyans horrified, sparking widespread calls for tighter regulation of religious institutions operating in the country.

Over the course of the trial, more than 120 witnesses gave evidence covering events between 2021 and 2023 at the 800-acre ranch in Shakahola Forest.

Prosecutors allege Mackenzie "initiated and directed" extreme fasting among his followers, describing what they called a "structured hierarchy of death", with children dying first, followed by teenagers, women and then men.

According to the prosecution, post-mortem and police evidence showed the children died from starvation, with additional signs of asphyxia, neck compression and traumatic head injuries.

Mackenzie's defence has pushed back strongly, arguing the case rests largely on circumstantial evidence, hearsay and inconclusive forensic findings.

Mackenzie was arrested in April 2023 after a tip-off from a rights group led to the rescue of some of his followers.

The police operation that followed uncovered hundreds of shallow mass graves, with the death toll climbing so quickly that local morgues ran out of space, forcing a temporary halt in excavations.

By 2024, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights had put the confirmed death toll at 429. A number of victims remain unidentified to this day.

In January, Mackenzie was charged in connection with a further 52 bodies discovered at a nearby village.