NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The leader of a Kenyan doomsday cult linked to more than 400 deaths was convicted Monday of murdering 190 children and one adult after ordering followers to starve themselves to death to meet Jesus.
Justice Diana Kavedza ruled that Pastor Paul Mackenzie, leader of the Good News International Church, oversaw an organized system that used religious teachings to compel followers to fast until they died.
In 2023, more than 400 bodies were exhumed from shallow graves on the 800-acre (320-hectare) Chakama Ranch in coastal Kilifi County, where Mackenzie’s followers lived in mud huts, away from the scrutiny of local communities and authorities.
Mackenzie was arrested and charged with murder alongside his wife and dozens of his followers. Some followers later became prosecution witnesses in the case. The trial began in 2023.
He has denied all charges, saying he did not force his followers to fast.
A mitigation hearing will be held on Oct. 30, while sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 6.
The court found that the directive to fast to death was implemented by targeting children first, while guards were deployed to prevent them from escaping, beating those who attempted to escape or eat.
Mackenzie also told his followers to shun education and health care. In her ruling on Monday, Justice Kavedza said that “medical treatment was presented as an instrument of Satan."
For William Ponda Ngala, whose mother, older brother and two nephews died, Mackenzie's conviction offers hope that it will serve as a lesson to other religious leaders who may seek to exploit their followers in the future.
“Finally, as a family, we can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that Mackenzie and all those who caused the deaths of my family members have been convicted,” he told The Associated Press on Monday.
In April last year, the Court of Appeal allowed the prosecutor to proceed with 191 murder charges against Mackenzie and his co-accused.
In May 2024, the High Court directed prosecutors to reduce the murder charges to no more than 12 counts. However, the Court of Appeal ruled that the law does not limit the number of charges that can be brought against a defendant.
AP’s Africa coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
This article has been corrected to note that the charges are of murdering 190 children and one adult.
Justice Diana Kavedza presides over a court trial of Good News International Church Pastor Paul Mackenzie accused of murdering over 191 people, in Mombasa, Kenya, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Wachira)
Good News International Church Pastor Paul Mackenzie attends a court verdict where he is accused of murdering over 191 people, in Mombasa, Kenya, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Wachira)
Good News International Church Pastor Paul Mackenzie attends court verdict where he is accused of murdering over 191 people, in Mombasa, Kenya, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Wachira)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indianapolis Colts missed the playoffs five straight years and missed out on finding their next franchise quarterback in the 2023 NFL draft.
On Monday, general manager Chris Ballard paid the price for both.
Team co-owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon announced she had fired Ballard, who had been making the personnel decisions since 2017. The move comes one day after the hometown fans booed resoundingly throughout the second half of Sunday's game, chanted “Fire Ballard” and left early as the Colts blew a 13-point halftime lead and lost 26-20 to previously winless Tennessee.
Irsay-Gordon issued a statement, saying the decision couldn't wait until the offseason.
“Our standard is to compete for championships, and I believe a change in leadership is necessary to meet that standard,” she said. “Making this change during the season was a deliberate decision. Waiting would only delay the important work that needs to begin now.”
She said a “thorough search” for Ballard's successor has already begun. In the meantime, assistant general manager Ed Dodds is next in line to make the personnel moves.
Irsay-Gordon made her position clear in January when she declined to fire Ballard and coach Shane Steichen as fans clamored for their ousters.
Instead, she said she understood the fans' desire to field a championship-caliber team but brought both back, acknowledging the urgency to make the playoffs could not be higher.
Indy (2-4) has not won the AFC South since 2014, the longest title drought in the division. In fact, each of the other three teams has won at least two division crowns since the Colts won their last one.
But the early results didn't produce much of a difference.
Ballard spent the offseason overhauling the defense and then watched it open the season by allowing 1,029 yards, the second-highest two-game total in league history. Indy lost both games. Victories over the then-winless Houston Texans and a Washington Commanders squad playing with a backup quarterback briefly quieted the outside calls for changes.
Another poor defensive performance at Pittsburgh and Sunday's debacle — blowing a 13-0 halftime lead as the Titans special teams unit scored one TD and set up another, and Indy generating only one score in the second half — only turned up the heat inside the organization.
And it was notably different following the game.
“We’ve got to give them something to cheer about,” a feistier than usual Steichen said. “I don’t blame them for booing one freaking bit.”
The usually even-keeled Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner also showed his frustration.
“I’m sick and tired of the same song and dance every year,” the team captain said.
Apparently, that was enough to compel Irsay-Gordon to pull the plug on Ballard.
The next steps remain unclear. Steichen reiterated Monday that suddenly turnover-prone quarterback Daniel Jones would keep his job and he wasn't planning to make any staff changes, though he also has acknowledged the Colts must take better care of the ball.
He said Irsay-Gordon told him earlier Monday that the Colts were moving on from Ballard.
“The urgency has never been higher, and we've got to go put a product on the field that's a winning product, that people are proud of," Steichen said. “We've got to do a better job of that each and every week when we go out there and play.”
No players were available to reporters Monday.
Indy (2-4) visits unbeaten Minnesota (5-0) next weekend, then travels to AFC South-leading Jacksonville (4-2) the following week. Their next home game is Nov. 8 against Dallas.
Ballard presided over some strange twists and turns not necessarily of his own volition — the sudden retirement of Andrew Luck in August 2019, starting seven straight season-openers with a different quarterback, the midseason firing of coach Frank Reich and subsequent hiring of Jeff Saturday in 2022, and a nasty contract dispute involving Irsay and Jonathan Taylor in 2023.
Then last year, in need of a veteran quarterback trying to salvage a quickly unraveling season, Ballard brought Philip Rivers out of retirement just after he was named a Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinalist.
Ballard also presided over a team that always seemed to be on the cusp of contending.
Indy ended a three-year playoff absence in 2018 when Luck led them to a wild-card round win at Houston before falling in the divisional round at Kansas City, where Ballard worked prior to being hired by Irsay-Gordon's late father, Jim. Rivers led the Colts to their last postseason appearance in 2020, losing 27-24 at Buffalo.
Indy also was eliminated on the final weekend twice since then.
But it was the decision to select quarterback Anthony Richardson with the No. 4 overall pick in 2023 that ultimately may have cost Ballard his job. Richardson's inaccuracy, inconsistency and injury history prompted the Colts to bring in Jones last season.
Jones wound up winning the battle to play, and as he led the Colts offense to a historic start in 2025, Richardson continued to sit and watch as the Colts went 8-2. But a broken bone in Jones' left leg derailed the season, and he suffered a season-ending torn right Achilles tendon in December. Indy finished the season by losing its final seven games.
This season's poor start, apparently, was the final straw for Irsay-Gordon.
“I also want to be clear: this decision does not change our goals for the season," Irsay-Gordon said. "We have a lot of football in front of us, and I expect us to compete, improve, and win football games.”
Ballard, a Texan who played college football at Wisconsin, also worked in the Chicago Bears front office from 2001-11 and coached at Texas A&M-Kingsville from 1994-99.
See AP’s full NFL coverage here
FILE - Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard on the sidelines during an NFL preseason football game against the Atlanta Falcons in Indianapolis, Aug. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Zach Bolinger, File)
