The Good News International Church founder received two consecutive 100-year terms for the deaths of 191 people, including 190 children, in one of Kenya’s deadliest religious extremism cases
A Kenyan High Court has sentenced self-proclaimed pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie to 200 years in prison for his role in the deaths of 191 people at Shakahola Forest in Kilifi County.
Two consecutive 100-year terms
Justice Diana Kavedza handed down the sentence on Nov. 6 at the High Court in Mombasa.
Mackenzie received 100 years for 183 murders committed through starvation and another 100 years for eight cases of direct homicide. The two sentences will run consecutively, giving him an aggregate term of 200 years.
How the victims died
The victims comprised 190 children and one adult.
The court found that Mackenzie, who led the Good News International Church, used his religious authority to organize extreme fasting among followers who were told that starving themselves would enable them to reach heaven.
Some victims who resisted were reportedly beaten, restrained or prevented from eating and drinking. Autopsies also established that some were strangled, suffocated or killed through blunt force trauma.
28 co-accused also sentenced
Mackenzie was convicted in October alongside 28 co-accused after a trial involving 120 prosecution witnesses. The other defendants received prison terms ranging from 10 to 160 years, depending on their individual roles in the killings.
Prosecutors had sought the death penalty for Mackenzie, but the court imposed a prison sentence instead.
448 bodies recovered from Shakahola
The case came to national and international attention in April 2023, when authorities began uncovering mass graves in Shakahola Forest. Investigations eventually led to the recovery of 448 bodies from the area.
Mackenzie faces separate legal proceedings relating to other deaths, including 52 people reportedly found at a nearby location.
Appeal expected
Mackenzie has maintained that he did not force his followers to starve, but the court rejected his defense. His lawyer has indicated that he intends to appeal the conviction and sentence.
The Shakahola tragedy has also intensified scrutiny of religious organizations and the authorities’ response to earlier warnings about Mackenzie’s activities.
