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Today in Africa — October 19, 2026: Kenyan Starvation Cult Leader Convicted of Murder, Samora Machel Remembered 40 Years After His Death

OkayAfrica has scoured the Internet for today’s major news stories, so you don't have to. On Oct. 19, coverage includes: a guilty verdict for Paul Mackenzie and 30 co-accused in the starvation deaths of 190 children and one adult in a coastal Kenyan forest; a joint South Africa and Mozambique ceremony honoring the late Mozambican president, whose 1986 plane crash in the Lebombo Mountains remains unexplained; and more.

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Lihle Z. Mtshali Today in Africa & Newsletters Editor
Samora Machel gestures before a crowd of supporters, many with raised fists, in Maputo.
October 19 marks 40 years since the death of Mozambican President and freedom fighter Samora Machel in a plane crash on October 19, 1986, in South Africa.

Every day, OkayAfrica shares a roundup of news we’re following but haven’t published as full articles. These short updates cover what’s happening across the continent — in culture, politics, and beyond. For more stories like these, check out our News page for updates from across the regions.

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Kenyan Court Finds Cult Leader Paul Mackenzie and About 30 Others Guilty of Murder in Shakahola Starvation Deaths

A Kenyan court today, Monday, October 19, found starvation cult leader Paul Mackenzie and about 30 co-accused guilty of murder over the deaths of 190 children and one adult in the Shakahola Forest, near the coast in southeastern Kenya. Prosecutors say Mackenzie and his Good News International Church ran a Christian doomsday sect and ordered followers to starve themselves and their children to death to reach heaven before the world ended. Mackenzie denied the charges and said he did not force the victims to starve, but the court rejected that argument. Justice Diana Kavedza Mochache said in a hearing lasting more than eight hours that in some cases children were isolated and denied food while their parents watched. Sentencing is set for November 6.

What to Know About the Shakahola Case

  • More than 400 bodies have been recovered from the forest, many severely decomposed, and only 26 have been identified. Today's judgment covered 191 deaths, and investigations into the others are ongoing.

  • Mackenzie was arrested in 2023 after a tip-off to police. Police first searched his premises in 2017, and authorities shut down his church in 2019, after which he moved to the forest. The case has raised questions over how he kept operating and led to calls for tougher oversight of religious organizations. President William Ruto said in 2023 that government agencies should have prevented the deaths and that he took responsibility.

  • People with direct knowledge of the cult told Reuters that Mackenzie planned the starvation in three phases: children first, then women and young men, then the remaining men. He forbade members from sending children to school or going to hospital, calling such institutions Satanic.

  • Mackenzie sat in court beside his wife, who is one of the co-accused. Francis Wanje, 62, who lost eight family members including two grandchildren, said the loss caused his family severe psychological problems and that he had been "hoping for this particular day."

  • Mackenzie faces other charges over the forest deaths, including terrorism-related ones, which he denies. Prosecutors say he also directed the deaths of 52 people in Kwa Binzaro village, about 18 miles from Shakahola, while in detention, and he has pleaded not guilty in that case.

South Africa and Mozambique Mark 40 Years Since Samora Machel's Mysterious Death

South Africa and Mozambique held a joint ceremony today, Monday, October 19, in Mbuzini, in South Africa's Mpumalanga province near the crash site, to remember Mozambican President Samora Machel 40 years after his death. Machel and more than 30 others died on October 19, 1986, when their plane crashed into the Lebombo Mountains near the Mozambique and Eswatini border as they returned from a regional leaders' meeting in Zambia. He led Mozambique from its 1975 independence from Portuguese colonial rule until his death. A South Africa-led investigation blamed the pilots and ruled out foul play, while Mozambique believed the then-apartheid South African government planned the crash to assassinate him. Four decades later, questions remain about what really happened.

What to Know About Machel and the Crash

  • Officials and experts from Mozambique and the former Soviet Union, where the aircraft was made, rejected the inquiry's findings. One allegation was that a false beacon diverted the plane, but the inquiry dismissed it.

  • South Africa's post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission examined the crash but made no conclusive findings and recommended further investigation. It raised questions about the 1987 inquiry, including the alleged presence of South African soldiers near the crash site a day earlier.

  • Machel became leader of the nationalist movement FRELIMO after Eduardo Mondlane's death in 1969. FRELIMO waged a decade-long armed struggle for independence, mainly from bases in Tanzania.

  • Two years after independence, civil war broke out between FRELIMO and RENAMO, an anti-communist rebel group backed by the white minority governments of South Africa and Rhodesia. The war killed an estimated 1 million people and ended with a 1992 peace agreement.

  • Machel's slogan "A luta continua," meaning "the struggle continues," supported the fight against apartheid and white minority rule in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. His backing of liberation movements exposed Mozambique to raids and airstrikes by South Africa and Rhodesia. Mozambican President Daniel Chapo said today that "Mozambique paid a high price for its solidarity with the liberation of South Africa."

Kenya's Ebola Cases Rise to Eight as Outbreak Reaches an Eighth Province in DR Congo

Kenya's Ebola cases rose to eight yesterday, Sunday, October 18, after a 49-year-old patient attendant who cared for the first patient tested positive while in quarantine, Health Ministry Director-General Dr. Patrick Amoth said. The other six patients are stable after supportive treatment. About 130 contacts, including health workers, were listed after the first patient died on October 5, and 128 remain in quarantine. Three of the first patient's close relatives and three health workers are among those who have tested positive. Meanwhile, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities said yesterday the outbreak has reached an eighth province, Nord-Ubangi, which borders the Central African Republic. The health ministry recorded two cases there, including one death, both men in their 20s in the Wapinda health zone.

What to Know About the Outbreak

  • Kenya has since strengthened screening, set up an emergency hotline for anyone who suspects contact with a patient or develops symptoms, and designated a gate at Nairobi's main airport for flights from 10 countries at the center of the outbreak. Tanzania has tightened border screening and introduced mandatory health declarations and 21-day monitoring for travelers from high-risk countries.

  • DR Congo has recorded at least 9,400 cases, including over 4,500 deaths, since the outbreak was declared in mid-May, making it the deadliest in the country's history. Ituri province remains the epicenter, with almost three-quarters of confirmed cases and 66 health zones affected.

  • World Health Organization Regional Director for Africa Mohamed Yakub Janabi said Ebola pockets are generally shrinking, but the virus is spreading geographically. He said one of the biggest challenges is convincing infected people to seek care, and some deaths occur in the community outside health centers.

  • North Kivu, where WHO says transmission remains substantial, will ban people from entering from Ituri for one week starting Monday. It will also limit motorcycles to two people and cars to four, and suspend large gatherings such as sports events, nightclubs, and political demonstrations.

  • No vaccine or treatment has been approved for the Bundibugyo strain. Mass population movement, rebel violence, mistrust, and poor working conditions for front-line workers fuel its spread. Epidemiologist Serge Ngalebato said Wamba health zone workers began periodic home visits because people feared going to hospitals, and he noted that most cases there are around mining areas where people move constantly.

In Brief: More Stories Today

Rwandan Dissident Beheaded in Uganda, Police Say

Police in Uganda say the body of Sgt. Maj. Robert Kabera, a Rwandan army veteran who fled to Uganda in 2020, was found Saturday in a bush in Kamengo, in the Mpigi district. The head is still missing, and detectives have no firm clues about a motive. Kabera was an outspoken critic of Rwandan President Paul Kagame and ran a YouTube channel with more than 140,000 followers. Rwanda's government denies targeting its opponents and has not commented on his death.

Thousands March in Tunis Against President Saied in Largest Protest in Years

Thousands of Tunisians marched through Tunis on Saturday against President Kais Saied, worsening living conditions, and limits on political freedoms. Led by the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT) alongside opposition parties and civil society groups, it was the largest protest against Saied in years. AFP counted more than 3,000 people, though the total could not be independently confirmed. Protesters demanded the release of detained government critics and an end to restrictions on trade union rights, and UGTT leader Salah Eddine Salmi said: "Silence will no longer be acceptable."

HRW Says Mali's Military and Russian Allies Carried Out "Apparent Indiscriminate" Drone Strikes

Human Rights Watch says Mali's armed forces and their Russian backers used "apparent indiscriminate" drone strikes and other abuses in an expanded offensive against insurgents that has killed scores of civilians. ACLED data shows 47 drone strikes killed 94 civilians from April to August, up from 22 strikes and 44 deaths a year earlier. Cited incidents include an August 19 strike on a cattle market in Bandiagara that killed six men and a July 12 shooting in Segou in which soldiers killed five young girls they mistook for attackers. HRW also documented abuses by JNIM and Tuareg-led separatists, including the execution of 19 soldiers in July. A Malian army spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

CAS to Issue Ruling on Senegal's AFCON Title Appeal at End of November

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said today, Monday, October 19, it will announce its decision on Senegal's appeal at the end of November. CAS had said after the October 8 hearing that it expected a decision within days, but it now plans a full ruling with legal grounds, called a CAS Award, which will take several weeks. Senegal is contesting the Confederation of African Football's decision to declare Morocco champions, a ruling made after CAF decided Senegal forfeited by walking off the pitch for 14 minutes in the final. Senegal argues the referee's decision is final and that he allowed the match to be completed.

Egypt's Sisi Says His Term Ends in 2030, Outlines Military Academy Leadership Program

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Saturday that his term will end in 2030 and that the constitution will not be amended. He proposed that the Egyptian Military Academy train PhD holders for 30 months to prepare them for leadership roles ranging from the presidency to ministries and parliament. Sisi gave no details on how graduates would be put forward for elected or appointed posts. A committee overseen by the parliament speaker will set the selection criteria and draft legislation for the program.

U.S. Lets Sudanese and Ukrainian TPS Holders Keep Protections for Now

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said on Monday that immigrants from Sudan and Ukraine can keep their temporary protected status for now, the day their protections were set to expire. A DHS spokesperson said announcements would "be made at the appropriate time." About 6,800 Sudanese hold TPS, along with roughly 240,000 Ukrainians who registered. The nonprofit Global Refuge welcomed the respite but urged a formal written decision.

Landmine and Gunfire Kill at Least 15 Nigerian Troops and Allied Fighters in Borno

At least 15 people, including 10 Nigerian soldiers and five members of the Civilian Joint Task Force, were killed on Saturday when their convoy hit a landmine and came under fire in Borno state, two soldiers said. The troops were patrolling a road between Gamboru Ngala and Cameroon when a pickup truck hit a mine likely planted by Boko Haram. Gunmen then fired on a second vehicle. Six wounded soldiers were taken to Maimalari Military Hospital in Maiduguri, and a military spokesperson declined to comment.

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