Maxkamad ku taal Mombasa oo Paul Mackenzie iyo 28 kale ku heshay dilka 190 carruur ah iyo qof weyn

Garsoore Diana Kavedza Mochache ayaa sheegtay in xeer-ilaaliyaha caddeeyay dambiga ka dhanka ah dhammaan 29 eedaysanayaasha

Maxkamad ku taal Mombasa ee dalka Kenya ayaa Isniintii ku heshay wacdiye isku magacaabay Paul Mackenzie iyo 28 kale dilka 190 carruur ah iyo hal qof weyn, sida ay sheegtay garsoore Diana Kavedza Mochache. Mackenzie ayaa la sheegay inuu dadka uu hoggaaminayay ku dhiirrigeliyay inay gaajaysiiyaan nafahooda si ay "Ciise ula kulmaan".

Waxa ay garsooruhu sheegtay iyo eedaha la soo bandhigay

Garsoore Diana Kavedza Mochache ayaa sheegtay in xeer-ilaaliyaha caddeeyay dambiga ka dhanka ah dhammaan 29 eedaysanayaasha ee dilka 190 carruur ah iyo hal qof weyn. Xeer-ilaaliyaha ayaa sheegay in Mackenzie uu "bilaabay oo hoggaamiyay" soonka xad-dhaafka ah ee ka socday beerkiisa 800-acre (325 hectare) ee ku taal Shakahola Forest.

Xeer-ilaaliyaha ayaa sidoo kale sheegay inuu jiro "hab-dhaqan darajo leh oo dhimasho" kaas oo sheegayay in carruurtu marka hore dhimtaan, kadib dhalinyarada, haweenka, ugu dambayntiina ragga. Baaritaannada meydadka iyo warbixinnada booliiska ayaa muujiyay in carruurtu inta badan u dhinteen gaajo, laakiin sidoo kale ay u dhinteen "neef-qabasho, cidhiidhi qoorta iyo dhaawac madax ah", sida ay sheegeen xeer-ilaaliyayaashu.

Taariikhda kiiska iyo wixii la xidhiidha

Mackenzie ayaa aasaasay Kaniisadda Good News International ee uu isagu sheegtay sanadkii 2003. Waxaa la xiray bishii Abriil 2023 ka dib markii koox xuquuqda aadanaha ah ay wargelisay mas'uuliyiinta. Hawlgalkii booliiska ee xigay ayaa daaha ka qaaday boqolaal qabri oo wadareed ah oo ku yaal meel kayn ah oo u dhow magaalada xeebta ah ee Malindi, warbaahinta maxalliga ahna waxay kiiska u bixisay "Shakahola Forest Massacre".

Tan iyo markii qabriyada la helay, meydad badan oo carruur, haween iyo rag ah ayaa la soo saaray, taasoo tirada guud ka dhigaysa in ka badan 400. Bishii Janaayo 2026, Mackenzie waxaa lagu soo oogay eed ku saabsan 52 meyd oo kale oo laga helay tuulo u dhow. Sannadkii 2017 waxaa lagu xiray eedaha "xagjirnimo" laakiin waa la sii daayay, sannadkii 2019-na waxaa mar kale lagu xiray dilka laba carruur ah oo ka dhacay Shakahola, laakiin waa lagu sii daayay dammaanad. Xukunka Mackenzie ayaa dhici doona 6 November.

Codka qoysaska dhibaatadu qaaday

Francis Wanje, 62 jir, oo ku waayay siddeed xubnood oo qoyskiisa ah, oo ay ku jiraan gabadhiisa iyo laba awoowe, ayaa yiri: "Tani waa maalin aad iyo aad muhiim u ah." Wuxuu intaa ku daray: "Waxaan filaynaa xukun noqon doona cashar u ah dadweynaha oo dhan, si aan waxyaabaha noocan ah mar dambe u dhicin."

Judge Diana Kavedza Mochache found all 29 accused guilty of murdering 190 children and one adult; sentencing is set for November 6.

A court in Mombasa, Kenya, on Monday found self-proclaimed preacher Paul Mackenzie and 28 associates guilty of murdering 190 children and one adult, Justice Diana Kavedza Mochache ruled after a hearing lasting more than eight hours.

Verdict Follows Eight-Hour Hearing

Justice Diana Kavedza Mochache delivered the ruling in Mombasa, finding all 29 accused persons guilty in the case that local media dubbed the "Shakahola Forest Massacre." Mackenzie established the Good News International Church in 2003 and was alleged to have incited followers to starve themselves to death in order to "meet Jesus."

He was arrested in April 2023 after a rights group informed authorities. A subsequent police operation exposed hundreds of mass graves at a forest site near the Kenyan beach resort of Malindi, and some of his followers were rescued.

Prosecution Describes a 'Structured Hierarchy of Death'

Prosecutors said Mackenzie "initiated and directed" extreme fasting at his 800-acre (325 hectare) ranch in Shakahola Forest, and claimed there was a "structured hierarchy of death" under which children should die first, followed by teenagers, women and then men.

Post-mortems and police reports showed the children mostly died from starvation, but also from "asphyxia, neck compression and traumatic head injury," prosecutors said. The court heard that in some cases children were isolated and denied food while their parents watched.

Families Seek a Lasting Lesson

Francis Wanje, 62, who lost eight family members at Shakahola, including his daughter and two grandchildren, said: "This is a very, very important day." He added: "We are expecting a ruling that will be a lesson to the whole public, so that such kinds of things will not happen again."

Since the initial discovery of the graves, more bodies of children, women and men have been unearthed, bringing the total to well over 400, with excavations paused at times as local morgues ran out of space. In January 2026, Mackenzie was charged over a further 52 bodies found at a nearby village. He was arrested in 2017 on "radicalization" charges but acquitted, and arrested again in 2019 over two child deaths at Shakahola before being released on bail. Sentencing is set for November 6.