Shakahola Verdict: High Court Convicts Paul Mackenzie and 28 Others of Murdering 191 PeopleShakahola Verdict: High Court Convicts Paul Mackenzie and 28 Others of Murdering 191 People

The judgment, delivered on Monday 19 October 2026, moves the case to its final stage: pre-sentence reports are due on 30 October and sentencing is set for 6 November. It also puts fresh pressure on the state to explain what has changed since mass graves were found in April 2023.

What the court found

Justice Diana Kavedza said she was satisfied that the prosecution had proved its case against all 29 accused, according to the Kenyan Judiciary, relying on Section 203 of the Penal Code. Convictions were entered under Section 322 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

The court rejected the defence argument that the victims had voluntarily fasted to death, noting that all but one of them were under 16. Mackenzie was convicted on all 191 counts, and the prosecution had argued a common plan, relying on the doctrine of common intention.

One of the accused pleaded guilty to all counts and was convicted on his own plea. His sentencing is pending.

The road to sentencing

Probation and Aftercare Services must assign each convict an individual probation officer to prepare a pre-sentence report, and no officer may interview more than one convict. The reports are due in court on 30 October 2026, after which the defence will make its mitigation submissions.

Sentencing will take place on Friday 6 November 2026 in open court, with the convicts to be physically produced. The court has already received 68 victim impact statements, which will not be repeated.

In April 2026, the same judge found that the prosecution had established a prima facie case, which required Mackenzie and his co-accused to present their defence.

The wider toll and the state's record

The 191 murder victims in the conviction are fewer than the total documented elsewhere. The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights recorded 448 deaths in its March 2024 report, titled Mashaka ya Shakahola, and said more than 600 people had been reported missing. It also said fewer than 10 per cent of bodies had been identified and returned to families.

The commission has criticised state agencies for failing to act on earlier warnings about Mackenzie's activities. The reports reviewed by Mwenendo do not name a specific change to the regulation of religious organisations since the graves were found, and they carry no statement from the Director of Public Prosecutions or the government on the verdict.

Another report cites 429 deaths in an earlier radicalisation ruling against Mackenzie. That figure differs from the commission's total and has not been explained, so Mwenendo uses the 191 victims named in the conviction and the commission's own figure, clearly attributed.

Why it matters for Kenyans

The case has become a test of whether Kenya's institutions can detect and stop harm inside unregistered or loosely supervised groups before lives are lost. The verdict settles the criminal question but not the policy one.

Mwenendo earlier reported on how the High Court struck down Kilifi's salt levy, a ruling on how the county governs its businesses. The Shakahola judgment brings Kilifi before the High Court again, this time on a question of public safety and accountability.

As Mwenendo earlier reported, Parliament is already weighing the closure of six regional agencies, with hearings in Kilifi on 23 October, so public scrutiny of state capacity in the county will continue.

The next dates are fixed: pre-sentence reports on 30 October and sentencing on 6 November.