A Kenyan court has sentenced pastor Paul Mackenzie to 200 years in prison for the deaths of 191 people, including 190 children, who were starved or killed under his leadership of a religious group.
Mackenzie, founder of the Good News International Church, was sentenced on Friday by the High Court in Mombasa after being convicted of murder by starvation and direct homicide. The court handed him two consecutive 100-year prison terms for the offences, Reuters reported.
Prosecutors said Mackenzie instructed his followers to starve themselves and their children to death to reach heaven before the end of the world. The court found that he directed the fasts, while some of his accomplices allegedly beat, threatened or confined those who resisted.
Mackenzie denied forcing his followers to starve, but the court rejected his defence. Twenty-eight of his associates were also convicted and sentenced to prison terms ranging from 10 to 160 years. Their lawyer said the defence would appeal the ruling.
The case came to light in April 2023, when Kenyan authorities began recovering bodies from Shakahola Forest, near the coastal town of Malindi. Police launched an investigation into the activities of Mackenzie’s church after reports that members had been instructed to fast to death.
Authorities have since recovered 448 bodies from the forest. Mackenzie is also facing a separate case involving 52 deaths, bringing the suspected death toll linked to the group to about 500.
The court heard that victims’ bodies were found in shallow graves, latrines and other locations in the forest. Some victims were reportedly buried alive.
The sentencing followed a trial involving accounts from victims’ families and survivors. One father, Stephen Mwiti, said he lost all six of his children after his wife took them to Shakahola. He has continued to seek answers about their deaths.
Mackenzie had previously faced legal action over his activities, but the discovery of hundreds of bodies in Shakahola Forest in 2023 brought the case to international attention. He is also facing other charges relating to deaths and alleged abuses connected to his religious group.
