Cult Leader Who Starved 400 People to 'Meet Jesus' Orchestrated More Deaths from Prison Cell
Kenyan authorities discover a new mass grave with 52 bodies, alleging that Paul Mackenzie used smuggled notes to order followers to continue their deadly fast even after his arrest.
Paul Mackenzie, the leader of a Kenyan starvation cult responsible for one of the worst mass suicides in recent history, is facing fresh charges after police discovered a new mass grave containing 52 bodies.
Mackenzie, the self-proclaimed pastor of the "Good News International Church," has been in custody since 2023 in connection with the "Shakahola Forest Massacre," where over 400 of his followers died. They had been told to starve themselves to death in order to "meet Jesus."
However, prosecutors now allege that Mackenzie’s reign of terror did not end when he was put in handcuffs.
Deadly Orders from Behind Bars
According to new police findings, Mackenzie continued to manipulate his followers from inside his detention cell. Authorities have uncovered evidence, including handwritten notes and data from smuggled mobile phones, indicating that he sent instructions to surviving members of the cult to continue their fatal fasting rituals.
"He continued to operate his followers from within the detention cell," police sources stated, noting that his influence over the minds of his adherents remained absolute even while he was incarcerated.
These directives reportedly led to the deaths of additional victims well after the initial police raids and Mackenzie’s arrest in 2023.
The "Shakahola Forest Massacre"
The investigation into Mackenzie began last year when police entered the remote Shakahola forest and began unearthing hundreds of shallow graves. The victims, ranging from young children to the elderly, had died of starvation, though some autopsies revealed signs of strangulation and blunt force trauma.
With the discovery of the latest grave containing 52 more bodies, the death toll attributed to Mackenzie’s apocalyptic theology continues to climb.
Mackenzie faces a litany of charges, including terrorism, murder, and radicalization. He has denied the charges in the past, claiming he closed his church in 2019, but the mounting evidence—including the fresh communications discovered in his cell—suggests he remained the active leader of the deadly movement until the very end.