Starve yourselves to “meet Jesus.” That was the message from self-proclaimed pastor and cult leader Paul Mackenzie. Hundreds of people in the Kenyan Shakahola forest, near the coastal town of Malindi in eastern Kenya, embraced that message.
More than 400 bodies, almost half of them children, have since been found in mass graves in the forest, some with head injuries or signs of strangulation.
Among the dead were all six of Stephen Mwiti’s children. His wife, a faithful follower of the pastor since 2015, took the children to the forest in 2022.
I was told that when my son was killed, the cult members did not mourn, instead they clapped their hands and rejoiced that he had risen and met Jesus, Stephen Mwiti told the BBC after the mass graves were first discovered in 2023.
190 children murdered
Cult leader Paul Mackenzie was convicted in October of murdering 190 children. On Friday, a Kenyan court sentenced him to 200 years in prison.
Even if he is hanged, I will never see my children again, Stephen Mwiti tells Reuters.
Many of the bodies were already decomposed when they were found in the mass graves. So far, only 26 of the 429 bodies have been identified, according to the news agency.
Has a grave
Samuel was seven years old when he disappeared into the forest with his mother and siblings. He is the only one of Stephen Mwiti's six children who has been identified and has a grave.
Stephen Mwiti long believed that his wife would also be found among the dead. But in March 2025, during a court hearing into the mass killings, he came face to face with her was called as a witness, she was charged with murder. She is one of the accomplices who, together with Paul Mackenzie, were convicted of murder in October 2026.
I am glad that everyone has been convicted, Stephen Mwiti told the BBC when the verdict was handed down.
Asphyxiation or head injuries
The cult leader, along with his co-defendants, has consistently maintained that no one was forced to die. Forensic examinations showed that several of the victims died from suffocation or head injuries, reports the BBC.
Assuming that the adults who were converted agreed to fast without being forced to do so, what about the children? Samuel died after being strangled. Was it also voluntary? Stephen Mwiti wonders.
What do you think?