The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
In a ruling delivered on Monday, October 19, 2026, the High Court in Malindi determined that Mackenzie and his co-accused were involved in an organised system of religious radicalisation and forced fasting that resulted in the deaths of their followers.
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Justice Diana Kavedza ruled that the prosecution had established its case against all 29 accused persons beyond reasonable doubt, finding each of them criminally responsible for the murders.
The decision followed a lengthy trial in which prosecutors presented 120 witnesses, while the defence called nine. The court examined events that took place in Shakahola Forest between January 2021 and September 2023.
Court details radical religious teachings
According to the judgment, Mackenzie, the leader of Good News International Ministries (GNI), promoted an extreme religious ideology that encouraged followers to abandon formal education, reject modern healthcare, disregard government institutions and withdraw from society.
The court identified six key elements of the radicalisation process: opposition to education and healthcare, rejection of government authority, social isolation, relocation to Shakahola Forest and the enforcement of deadly fasting.
Mackenzie was found to have distorted biblical teachings to persuade his followers that starving themselves to death would allow them to meet Jesus.
Evidence presented before the court indicated that the fasting programme followed a specific order, with children expected to die first, followed by young people, women and men, before Mackenzie and his family.
Those who defied the instructions were allegedly subjected to beatings, physical restraint and confinement.
Child survivors testified that they were denied food and water even when supplies were available. Some recounted witnessing their siblings die from starvation.
The court also heard that burial ceremonies were described as “harusi,” meaning weddings, while the deceased were celebrated as “shujaa wa imani,” or heroes of faith.
According to the judgment, Mackenzie presided over some burials, while graves were flattened and concealed to hide the bodies and prevent their discovery.
Forensic evidence links deaths to starvation
Forensic examinations established starvation as the cause of death in 72 cases. Other victims died from asphyxia, manual compression of the neck and traumatic head injuries.
In 110 cases, investigators could not establish the precise cause of death because the bodies had decomposed extensively.
However, the court found that the wider circumstances, including survivor accounts, the enforced fasting programme and the condition of burial sites, supported the conclusion that starvation had also contributed to the deaths in cases where the cause could not be conclusively determined.
Justice Kavedza dismissed challenges to the credibility of the forensic investigations, ruling that the recovery, documentation and examination of the remains had followed a sufficiently organised process.
The judge further held that children could not legally consent to being starved to death, noting evidence that some had been beaten, tied up or locked inside houses to prevent them from accessing food or escaping.
The court emphasised that parents have a legal obligation to safeguard their children’s lives and welfare, rather than subject them to fatal practices in the name of religion.
“A parent has no legal entitlement to determine that a child should die in pursuit of a religious belief,” the court held.
Court identifies organised network
The judgment established that the fasting operation involved an organised structure of religious leaders, village administrators, security personnel, grave diggers and individuals tasked with transporting bodies and concealing deaths.
Among those convicted was Smart Deri Mwakalama, the church secretary and Mackenzie’s deputy. The court found that he had transported followers, communicated instructions, apprehended people attempting to escape and supervised burials.
Stephen Sanga Muye, identified as the head of security, was found to have participated in assaults, digging graves and reburying victims.
Other accused persons were linked to guarding fasting areas, preventing followers from escaping, withholding food and water, and concealing burial sites.
The court concluded that Mackenzie had directly intended to cause death through his fasting instructions, while those who knowingly enforced the regime understood the likely fatal consequences of their actions.
It also found that the accused persons’ conduct met the definition of an extreme belief system under Section 12D of the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
Mackenzie and his associates had denied the 191 murder charges when they were brought before the court in 2024. The preacher also faces separate manslaughter and terrorism charges, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
How the Shakahola tragedy was uncovered
The deaths came to public attention in March 2023 after Humphrey Ngono reported concerns about two children allegedly being starved to death at Lango Baya Police Station.
The report prompted investigations and a multi-agency operation that uncovered numerous shallow graves in Shakahola Forest.
Between April and July 2023, authorities recovered 429 bodies during four phases of exhumation. The 191 victims addressed in the latest judgment formed the basis of the murder charges.
During the trial, the court heard that followers had abandoned their homes, sold property, resigned from jobs, withdrawn children from school and destroyed identification documents before moving to the forest.
The settlement occupied approximately 4,860 acres within Chakama Ranch and was divided into villages with biblical names, including Galilaya, Judea, Bethlehem, Sidoni and Samaria.
Mackenzie founded Good News International Church in 2003, and the organisation was formally registered in September 2010. It later expanded to approximately 35 branches across Kenya.
He had previously faced law enforcement action, including an arrest in 2017 over allegations of radicalisation, but was subsequently acquitted in that case.
The Shakahola tragedy has fuelled national debate over religious extremism, accountability and the regulation of religious organisations in Kenya.
Of the original 31 accused persons, two died during the proceedings, while Enos Amanya Ngala pleaded guilty to all 191 murder counts and is awaiting sentencing.
The remaining 29 accused persons were initially part of the case, with Mackenzie and 28 others convicted in the judgment delivered on Monday. They are expected to be sentenced on November 6, 2026.
