Paul Mackenzie ran a religion called Good News International Church, which organized controversial rallies where he allegedly asked his followers to starve themselves and their children to go to heaven before the end of the world.

Paul Mackenzie ran a religion called Good News International Church, which organized controversial rallies where he allegedly asked his followers to starve themselves and their children to go to heaven before the end of the world.

Evangelist Paul Mackenzie, who was imprisoned in 2023 on charges of deceiving his church members into starving themselves so they could meet Jesus in heaven, is being investigated for his role in the deaths of 52 people in a communal cesspool at Kwa Binzaro.

By 2025, after two years of investigation, the bodies of more than 400 people had been found in the Shakahola forest, dumped in mass graves after starving themselves to death, stemming from Mackenzie's teachings

The investigation continued beyond Shakahola Forest, until in August 2025, 52 more bodies were found in the Kwa Binzaro area, 30 kilometers from Shakahola Forest.Mackenzie and the seven co-defendants appeared in court on February 11 to be arraigned on the new charges.

The prosecution said that Mackenzie continued to plan and oversee the activities that took place at Binzaro even after his imprisonment in 2023, using extremist teachings to encourage people to go and carry out these activities underground.In January 2026, the Kenyan Prosecution Service, through X, wrote that “investigators found handwritten notes in Mackenzi's prison cell, showing transactions made over the phone.”

The indictment states that Mackenzi and his co-defendants are charged with murder, forming a group to commit organized crimes, and crimes related to extremism and inciting acts of terrorism.

In kiswahili 

Paul Mackenzie alikuwa mwanzilishi wa dini ya Good News International Church, ambapo alidai kuwa watu watakiwa wajitoe njaa ili wakutane na Yesu mbinguni. Alifungwa mwaka 2023 kwa kosa la kuwahadaa waumini wake kujitoa njaa ili wakutane na Yesu mbinguni

 Sasa anachunguzwa kwa kuhusika na vifo vya watu 52 waliokufa kwenye shimo la choo la Kwa Binzaro. Mwaka 2025, miili ya watu zaidi ya 400 ilikutwa msituni Shakahola, waliokufa kwa njaa kutokana na mafundisho ya Mackenzie. Mnamo Agosti 2025, miili mingi ilikutwa kwenye eneo la Kwa Binzaro, kilomita 30 kutoka Shakahola.

 Mackenzie na washtakiwa wengine wanadaiwa kuendelea kupanga shughuli hizo hata akiwa jela, kwa kutumia mafundisho ya kiimani kuwahamasisha watu. Mnamo Januari 2026, waendesha mashtaka wa Kenya walikuta maandishi ya mkono wa Mackenzie, yakionyesha miamala ya kifedha. Washtakiwa hao wanakabiliwa na mashtaka ya mauaji, kuunda kikundi cha uhalifu, na makambi yanayohusiana na ugaidi.