Active case
Shakahola Forest incident
In March 2023, Kenyan police began investigating Good News International Ministries, an apocalyptic Christian group led by Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, after a man reported that his wife and daughter had traveled from Nairobi to join the group in Kilifi County and had not returned. Police discovered emaciated people and shallow graves on the group's 800-acre property in Shakahola Forest. Fifteen members were rescued and said they had been instructed to starve themselves to "meet Jesus"; four of the fifteen died before reaching a hospital.
Over the following weeks, searches of the property uncovered numerous additional graves, including one believed to hold five members of a single family and others containing up to twelve children's bodies. Some bodies were found unburied, and one survivor had reportedly been buried alive for three days before being rescued and hospitalized. Authorities said members of the commune sometimes hindered rescue efforts, and believed an unknown number of people remained hidden in the forest while continuing to fast.
According to testimony given to police, Mackenzie told followers that fasting would only "count" if done together on his property, that they should avoid contact with the outside world, and that they should destroy government identification documents. Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki alleged that Mackenzie hired armed individuals to kill followers who tried to stop fasting or who took too long to die. By 10 May 2023, 133 deaths had been reported; by 2 August, the reported death toll had risen to 427, with 613 people reported missing. Autopsies on more than 100 bodies indicated deaths from starvation, strangulation, suffocation, and blunt trauma. By September 2023, Kenyan news reported 429 bodies had been exhumed, with causes including starvation, asphyxia, and head injury, while many remained unascertained.
Mackenzie, his wife Rhoda Mumbua Maweu, and at least 16 other members were arrested; by 14 June 2023, 36 people had been arrested in total. Mackenzie was denied bail on 10 May 2023, with police indicating intent to pursue terrorism-related charges. One suspect, Joseph Juma Buyuka, died in custody in June 2023 after a hunger strike. In July 2023, Maweu was released on bond while Mackenzie and others remained in custody. In January 2024, Mackenzie and 30 other defendants were charged with the murders of 191 children, most of whom could not be identified.
Police also raised, and later walked back, suspicions that some bodies were missing organs due to possible forced harvesting; autopsies on 112 exhumed bodies as of 8 May 2023 ruled this out. In August 2025, additional suspected victims' remains, including those of two children, were found in a shallow grave near Malindi, along with body parts and further suspected mass graves. Kenyan President William Ruto appointed a commission of inquiry and a task force to review regulation of religious organizations following the incident.
Key facts
- Victims
- On file
- Date
- 2023
- Location
- Shakahola Forest, Kilifi County, Kenya
- Case status
- ongoing
Case timeline
2023-03
A man reports to police that his wife and daughter, who had gone to join Good News International Ministries in Kilifi County, had not returned; investigation begins.
2023-04-24
Search teams pause digging for bodies as the Malindi Sub-County Hospital morgue runs out of space after 90 bodies are found.
2023-04-28
Heavy rain reported to be slowing rescue and recovery efforts.
2023-04-30
Kenyan Red Cross reports 410 individuals, including 227 minors, missing.
2023-05-07
Mackenzie, his wife Rhoda Mumbua Maweu, and 16 other members are in police custody.
2023-05-08
Autopsies on 112 exhumed bodies reportedly rule out organ harvesting.
2023-05-09
Reuters reports on the death toll and characterization of the case as highly organized crime.
2023-05-10
Reported death toll reaches 133; Mackenzie denied bail, with police signaling terrorism-related charges.
2023-05-24
91 people have been rescued as of this date.
2023-05-25
Local outlet K24TV reports exact death toll may never be known due to bodies allegedly disposed of in pit latrines.
2023-05-26
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki alleges Mackenzie hired armed individuals to kill followers who sought to stop fasting.
2023-06-12
65 victims arraigned at Shanzu Law Courts for attempted suicide.
2023-06-14
Total number of those arrested reaches 36.
2023-06-21
Suspect Joseph Juma Buyuka dies in custody following a hunger strike; two other suspects reported in critical condition.
2023-07-03
Shanzu Magistrate Court releases Rhoda Maweu on bond; Mackenzie and 16 co-accused ordered to remain in custody.
2023-08-02
Reported death toll reaches 427; 613 people reported missing.
2023-09-18
The Nation reports 429 bodies exhumed from Shakahola Forest, with breakdown of causes of death.
2024-01
Mackenzie and 30 other defendants charged with the murders of 191 children.
2025-08
Bodies of at least nine suspected victims, including two children, found in a shallow grave near Malindi; additional body parts and suspected mass graves discovered.
Best coverage
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People
Paul Nthenge Mackenzie
CHARGEDFounder and leader of Good News International Ministries; charged in January 2024 with the murders of 191 children; denied bail in May 2023; police indicated intent to pursue terrorism-related charges.
Kithure Kindiki
LAW ENFORCEMENTInterior Cabinet Secretary who made public statements on death toll, causes of death, and allegations against Mackenzie.
Joseph Juma Buyuka
CHARGEDSuspect who died in custody on 21 June 2023 following a hunger strike while undergoing treatment at a Malindi hospital.
Rhoda Mumbua Maweu
CHARGEDMackenzie's third wife; arrested and held in custody; released on personal bond of KSH 100,000 with a surety bond of KSH 300,000 on 3 July 2023.
William Ruto
LAW ENFORCEMENTPresident of Kenya who appointed a commission of inquiry into the deaths and a task force to review regulation of religious organizations.
Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.
Archival records
archival location
Kenya relief location map
Credit: Uwe Dedering · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Places
Common questions
- What happened to the victim?
- Hundreds of followers of preacher Paul Nthenge Mackenzie's Good News International Ministries died in Kilifi County, Kenya, after being told to fast to death; mass graves were uncovered in Shakahola Forest starting in April 2023, and Mackenzie and dozens of others were later charged in connection with the deaths.
- Where did the crime happen?
- Shakahola Forest, Kilifi County, Kenya.
- What is the current status of the case?
- Status: ongoing. Last verified July 2026.
Sources
- ENCYCLOPEDICShakahola Forest incidentWikipedia · 2026-07-07
- PRESSKenyan forest death cult bodies are victims of 'highly organised crime'Reuters · 2026-07-07
- PRESSKenya starvation cult death toll rises as child graves found in Shakahola ForestCBS News · 2026-07-07
Record history
- First published
- JUL 07, 2026
- Last verified against sources
- JUL 07, 2026