A Kenyan court has sentenced the leader of a doomsday cult, Paul Mackenzie, to 200 years in prison for his role in the deaths of 191 people, most of them children, in one of the deadliest cult-related tragedies in recent history.
Mackenzie was convicted alongside 28 accomplices for orchestrating the deaths of his followers by directing them to starve themselves and their children to death in the belief that doing so would enable them to meet Jesus.
Justice Diana Mochache, who delivered the judgment, said Mackenzie bore the primary criminal responsibility for the deaths, having used his religious influence to issue directives that led to the mass killings.
The court sentenced him to 100 years for homicide and another 100 years for offences relating to starvation. While sentences under each category will run concurrently, the two categories will run consecutively, bringing his total prison term to 200 years.
Justice Mochache described the killings as cold and calculated, insisting that the sentence was necessary to send a strong warning against religious extremism and the exploitation of vulnerable followers.
“The sentence is appropriate and just, to send an unmistakable message that such atrocities warrant the maximum penalties allowed by law,” the judge said.
Mackenzie’s 28 co-defendants, including guards who allegedly enforced the fasting directives and gravediggers who helped conceal victims’ bodies, received varying prison terms of up to 160 years.
The court, however, declined to impose the death penalty sought by prosecutors, despite acknowledging that the circumstances of the case met the threshold for its consideration.
Justice Mochache explained that capital punishment would eliminate the possibility of rehabilitation and disengagement. Kenya has not carried out an execution since 1987.
Mackenzie, who established Good News International Ministries in 2003, was arrested in 2023 following the discovery of hundreds of bodies in shallow graves in Shakahola Forest, near the coastal town of Malindi.
Investigations revealed that he had allegedly instructed his followers to abandon food and water as part of preparations for what he described as their journey to meet Jesus.
The court heard that Mackenzie’s followers regarded him as the mouthpiece of Jesus, while those who opposed his teachings were subjected to violence.
Justice Mochache said the deaths resulted from an organised system of religious indoctrination and directives that compelled followers to participate in the deadly fasting exercise.
Post-mortem examinations showed that most of the victims died from starvation, while others suffered suffocation, strangulation and head injuries. The cause of death could not be established in some cases because of the advanced decomposition of the bodies.
The cult leader was tried alongside his co-defendants after they were convicted on October 19. They had pleaded not guilty and maintained that nobody was forced to die.
Mackenzie also faces separate manslaughter and terrorism charges, which he denies.
The tragedy has attracted international attention and raised serious concerns about the activities of unregulated religious organisations and the failure of security agencies to intervene despite earlier warnings.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) reportedly found that local administrative and law enforcement officials repeatedly ignored the cult’s activities.
One of the victims’ relatives, Francis Wanje, who lost eight family members, including two grandchildren, said he had reported the matter to the police in March 2023 but was disappointed that immediate action was not taken.
He told the BBC that he was hoping for a punishment that would match the magnitude of Mackenzie’s actions.
Wanje disclosed that a relative in the police force and a former cult member had helped rescue his grandson, who subsequently identified the graves of his siblings.
Mackenzie established Good News International Ministries in 2003, and the church reportedly attracted thousands of followers through its branches across Kenya.
It also operated a television station, Times TV, which broadcast his sermons from Malindi.
His teachings reportedly portrayed formal education as evil, healthcare as contrary to religious doctrine and digital identity cards as the mark of the devil.
The church eventually shut down in 2019, after which Mackenzie relocated to Shakahola Forest and encouraged his followers to join him.
Although the convictions have been seen as a significant step towards justice for victims and their families, the 191 murder convictions represent only part of the tragedy, as more than 400 bodies were reportedly exhumed from the forest.
The remaining deaths and separate charges against Mackenzie continue to raise questions about the full scale of the Shakahola tragedy.
