Doomsday Cult Leader Found Guilty of Mass Murder as US Issues Urgent Travel Warning
Former taxi driver Paul Mackenzie told followers to starve their children so they could 'meet Jesus'
TL;DR
- Paul Mackenzie, leader of the Good News International Church cult in Kenya, has been convicted of murdering 190 children and one adult.
- He instructed followers to starve their children to death to 'meet Jesus' and called modern medicine 'evil'.
- Over 400 bodies were discovered in shallow graves in Shakahola forest in 2023.
- Mackenzie and 28 other cult leaders were convicted of murder; they had pleaded not guilty.
- The US State Department has issued a travel warning for Kenya, citing risks of health, crime, kidnapping, terrorism, unrest, and traffic safety.
- Mackenzie founded the church in 2003, and it gained popularity, broadcasting sermons and attracting thousands.
- Authorities had been aware of Mackenzie since 2017 when police found children living without schooling at his compound.
- In 2019, he moved followers to Shakahola Forest, where members lived in mud houses and were allegedly subjected to enforced fasting and deaths by armed militia.
- Mackenzie will be sentenced on November 6.