Father who lost six children in Kenya cult tragedy says justice cannot undo loss
Stephen Mwiti, who lost six children to Shakahola starvation cult, reacts during a Reuters interview, ahead of sentencing of cult leader Paul Mackenzie who was found guilty of the murder of 190 children and one adult, inside his house at the Maweni area of Kilifi County, Kenya, November 3, 2026.
What you need to know:
- Mackenzie and co-defendants may face death sentence at Friday's hearing
- Court convicted them last month of murdering 190 children and one adult
- Only 26 of more than 400 bodies recovered from the forest have been identified
When Kenyan starvation cult leader Paul Mackenzie is sentenced on Friday for the murders of 190 children and an adult, Stephen Mwiti and other relatives of the victims will be worried that he may continue spreading his deadly messages.
Mwiti says all six of his children died in the Shakahola Forest, where his wife took them in 2022. Prosecutors said Mackenzie ordered followers to starve themselves and their children to death to go to heaven before the world ended, in what became one of the worst cult-related tragedies in recent history.
Stephen Mwiti, who lost six children to the Shakahola starvation cult, holds their photograph inside his house, ahead of the sentencing of cult leader Paul Mackenzie, who was found guilty of the murder of 190 children and one adult linked to the Shakahola starvation cult, in the Maweni area of Kilifi County, Kenya, November 3, 2026.
Mwiti said he hoped that Mackenzie and his fellow defendants, who include Mwiti's wife, would be held in solitary confinement if they were jailed, so they could not influence other prisoners.
"Even if he were to be hanged, I will never see my children again," Mwiti, 48, told Reuters this week while visiting his son Samuel's grave in the coastal city of Malindi.
Samuel, who was around seven years old when they entered the forest, was the only one of Mwiti's children whose remains could be identified. Many of the victims' bodies were severely decomposed, with officials only able to confirm the identities of 26 of the more than 400 bodies recovered from the forest.
Stephen Mwiti, who lost six children to Shakahola starvation cult, reacts during a Reuters interview, ahead of the sentencing of cult leader Paul Mackenzie who was found guilty of the murder of 190 children and one adult, inside his house at the Maweni area of Kilifi County, Kenya, November 3, 2026.
The cult leader's followers continued to promote his ideas
Mackenzie and 28 co-defendants were convicted last month of murder. They could face the death penalty, although Kenya has not executed anyone in decades.
Most of the defendants, including Mwiti's wife, denied the charges and Mackenzie said he did not force anyone to starve, an argument that Mwiti said made no sense.
"Assuming the adults he had converted agreed to fast without being forced, what about the children? The post mortem even revealed that ... Samuel died after being strangled. Was that also by will?" Mwiti said.
After Mackenzie was arrested, officials said his followers continued to promote his ideas.
Last year, authorities discovered dozens more bodies in a nearby village, which they linked to Mackenzie's cult.
Stephen Mwiti, who lost six children to the Shakahola starvation cult, holds their photograph inside his house, ahead of the sentencing of cult leader Paul Mackenzie, who was found guilty of the murder of 190 children and one adult linked to the Shakahola starvation cult, in the Maweni area of Kilifi County, Kenya, November 3, 2026.
Father holds on to memories of his children
Four years after he last saw his children, Mwiti is haunted by their absence.
"When I leave work and come across children, I get startled," Mwiti said. "At times, a child looks so much like one of my children that it shocks me."
Stephen Mwiti who lost six children to the Shakahola starvation cult, holds their photograph inside his house ahead of sentencing of the cult's leader Paul Mackenzie, who was found guilty of the murder of 190 children and one adult, at the Maweni area of Kilifi County, Kenya, November 3, 2026.
At the cemetery, where Samuel is buried beneath a wooden cross, Mwiti held photographs of his children and some of their former school uniforms that he had hoped to bury with them.
"These are all the memories I have left," he said.
Follow our WhatsApp channel for breaking news updates and more stories like this.
