Kenyan doomsday cult leader jailed 200 years over deaths of 191 followers

A Kenyan court has sentenced controversial religious leader Paul Mackenzie to 200 years in prison for his role in the deaths of 191 people, including 190 children, whom he allegedly directed to starve themselves to death in the belief that they would meet Jesus.

Mackenzie was found guilty in October alongside 28 other defendants over the mass deaths associated with his religious movement in Shakahola forest, near Kenya’s coastal region.

Pronouncing the sentence on Friday, Justice Diana Mochache held that Mackenzie carried the “primary criminal culpability” for instructing his followers to embark on deadly fasting exercises.

The court imposed a 100-year prison term for homicide and an additional 100 years for offences connected to the starvation deaths.

Although the sentences under each category are to run concurrently, the two categories will run consecutively, resulting in a total jail term of 200 years.

According to the BBC, the judge described the killings as “cold and calculated”, stressing that the punishment was intended to send a strong message that crimes of such magnitude would attract the harshest penalties allowed by law.

Mackenzie’s 28 co-defendants, among them guards accused of enforcing the fasting directives and gravediggers who helped bury the victims, were handed various prison terms, with the longest sentence reaching 160 years.

Prosecutors had asked the court to impose the death penalty on Mackenzie. However, Justice Mochache rejected the request, explaining that capital punishment would leave no room for rehabilitation.

Mackenzie was arrested in 2023 after security operatives uncovered mass graves containing bodies of suspected members of his religious group in Shakahola forest. Since the discovery, more than 400 bodies have reportedly been exhumed from the area.

Investigations revealed that starvation accounted for most of the deaths, while some victims reportedly died from suffocation, strangulation and head injuries.

The preacher established Good News International Ministries in 2003 and subsequently gained notoriety for teachings in which he portrayed education and healthcare as evil practices.

He later relocated to Shakahola forest, where he encouraged his followers to join him.

Throughout the trial, Mackenzie and the other defendants denied the accusations, maintaining that no one had been compelled to die.

The religious leader is also facing separate manslaughter and terrorism charges, which he has denied.