Father loses all six children after pastor asked followers to starve to meet Jesus, leaving 190 children dead and one adult

• Kenyan preacher Paul Mackenzie and 28 co-defendants have been convicted of murdering 190 children and one adult.

• A father, Stephen Mwiti, said all six of his children died after his family became involved with Mackenzie’s church.

• Mwiti said he had only been able to find and bury the remains of one child.

• More than 400 bodies have been recovered from Shakahola Forest, where Mackenzie’s followers were found in mass graves.

A Kenyan father who lost all six of his children in a religious cult tragedy has recounted his devastating experience after a court convicted doomsday preacher Paul Mackenzie and his co-defendants of murdering 191 people, including 190 children.

Stephen Mwiti, 48, told the BBC that all six of his children died in Shakahola Forest, where Mackenzie’s followers were encouraged to starve themselves to death to meet Jesus before the end of the world.

Mwiti said he had only been able to find and bury the remains of one of his children, his son Samuel.

Holding a photograph of his family, the grieving father recalled how Mackenzie’s teachings reached his home through a television set before his family became involved with the preacher’s church.

“This little thing here was the start of all my misery,” Mwiti said, pointing to a television and cable box in his home in the coastal town of Malindi.

He also recalled confronting Mackenzie after becoming concerned about what was happening to his family.

The BBC reported that Mwiti’s former wife was among those convicted alongside Mackenzie in the murder case.

The court’s verdict came on Monday, October 19, 2026, when Justice Diana Kavedza Mochache found Mackenzie and 28 co-defendants guilty of murder over the deaths of 190 children and one adult.

Mackenzie founded Good News International Church in 2003 and preached an apocalyptic message that the world was approaching its end. Prosecutors said he urged followers to starve themselves and their children so they could reach heaven and meet Jesus.

The preacher also taught that formal education and modern healthcare were evil, according to accounts from former followers and investigators.

The court heard that Mackenzie’s group operated an organised system in which religious teachings and a hierarchy were used to enforce the deadly fasting regime. In delivering the verdict, the judge said some children were isolated and denied food while their parents watched.

Mackenzie denied the murder charges, maintaining that he had not forced his followers to starve themselves. The court rejected his defence and convicted him and the other defendants.

The case emerged in April 2023 after police investigating reports of missing people discovered shallow graves and severely malnourished survivors in Shakahola Forest, in Kenya’s coastal Kilifi County.

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More than 400 bodies have since been recovered from the forest. Many victims were believed to have died from starvation, while investigators also identified other causes of death, including suffocation and injuries.

The 191 murder convictions cover only part of the wider tragedy. Investigations into other deaths are continuing, and Mackenzie faces separate legal proceedings relating to additional alleged offences.

The case has raised questions about how Mackenzie was able to continue operating despite earlier encounters with authorities. Police had investigated his activities before his church was shut down in 2019, after which he moved his operations to Shakahola Forest.

Mackenzie and his co-defendants are due to be sentenced on November 6, 2026. His lawyer has said he intends to appeal the convictions.