The 191-count murder verdict in Kenya’s Shakahola case leaves preacher Paul Nthenge Mackenzie and others facing separate charges tied to more than 230 additional deaths, AP reported.
In its account of the Oct. 19 verdict, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions said Mackenzie and 28 co-accused were convicted on 191 murder counts. It identified the victims as 190 children and one adult.
The other charges include manslaughter, terrorism and child torture, according to AP. They are separate from the counts addressed by the murder verdict.
Reuters reported that investigators were still examining deaths outside the 191-count case. Its account put the number of bodies recovered from Shakahola Forest at more than 400.
Prosecutors said the group’s leaders used religious teachings and a hierarchy to enforce fasting, beginning with children. Guards kept followers from leaving the settlement, according to the prosecution’s account. Mackenzie has denied forcing followers to fast, Reuters reported.
The murder case had faced a dispute over the number of charges prosecutors could pursue. After a High Court direction in 2024 to reduce the counts, Kenya’s Court of Appeal allowed the 191-count case to proceed in April 2025.
Authorities had encountered Mackenzie before the Shakahola investigation. Reuters reported that police searched his premises in 2017 and authorities shut his church in 2019. Police said he then moved to the forest.
AP reported that William Ponda Ngala, whose mother, older brother and two nephews died, described his family’s relief at the verdict. Defense lawyer Lawrence Obonyo said he had been instructed to appeal, Reuters reported.
AP reported a mitigation hearing for Oct. 30, when the court is due to hear arguments relevant to sentencing. Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 6, Reuters reported.
