Kenya Sentences Cult Leader Paul Mackenzie to 200 Years for Shakahola Murders
The court ruled that Mackenzie bore primary responsibility for directing followers to starve 191 people, mostly children, to death in the Shakahola forest.
By Vikram Harrison ·
Paul Mackenzie received a 200-year prison sentence on Friday in a Mombasa court for the murder of 191 individuals in the Shakahola forest. All but one of the victims were children. Justice Diana Mochache delivered the verdict after a trial that concluded with convictions for Mackenzie and 27 co-accused.
The judge stated that Mackenzie held the primary criminal responsibility for ordering his followers to fast until death. She described the sentence as a necessary measure to convey that such acts of violence require the highest penalties permitted by Kenyan law. Prosecutors had previously requested the death penalty for Mackenzie, citing the severity of the crimes and what they characterized as a lack of remorse.
The killings occurred after Mackenzie instructed members of his group to starve their children so they could meet Jesus. Before the hearing, Mackenzie and the other defendants formally asked the court for leniency. They had all pleaded not guilty in the lead-up to the October 19 conviction, consistently maintaining that no one was forced to die.
The case originated in 2023 when authorities discovered more than 400 bodies in shallow graves within the Shakahola forest near the Kenyan coast. Francis Wanje, who lost eight relatives including two grandchildren, reported the incident to police in March 2023. He stated that officers were expected to rescue the remaining members immediately but did not intervene.
Wanjie's grandson survived because a relative in the police force and a former cult participant intervened. The child showed officers the grave of his siblings. Wanje noted that the child was saved on his final day before the group would have killed him. The state-funded Kenya National Commission on Human Rights later found that local officials and law enforcement had repeatedly ignored the cult's activities.
In an eight-hour judgment issued last month, Justice Mochache detailed the internal dynamics of the group. She found that followers believed Mackenzie was the mouthpiece of Jesus. Those who opposed his teachings were beaten to death. One co-accused testified that followers were told anyone who resisted the fast would be sent to heaven through kicks and blows.
The group referred to burials in the forest as weddings, celebrating the dead as having married Jesus. Post-mortem examinations identified starvation as the cause of death for most victims. Other deaths resulted from suffocation, strangulation, or head injuries. Some bodies were too decomposed to determine a cause, and a few victims died shortly after rescue due to severe emaciation.
Mackenzie founded Good News International Ministries in 2003. Over the next 16 years, the church attracted thousands of followers and broadcast sermons from Malindi on its own station, Times TV. His preaching promoted conspiracy theories that labeled education as evil and healthcare as contrary to doctrine. He considered digital identity cards to be the mark of the devil. The main church closed in 2019, after which Mackenzie moved to the Shakahola forest.
President William Ruto established a commission of inquiry following the discovery of the bodies, though the body was later declared unconstitutional. Mackenzie had previously been arrested and released due to a lack of evidence. The current convictions cover 191 victims out of the more than 400 bodies exhumed from the site.
Mackenzie and other cult leaders face additional legal proceedings. These include charges of terrorism, radicalization, and denying education to children. The conclusion of the murder trial marks a major step in the legal process for the families of the victims.
