MOMBASA-(MaraviPost)-Kenyan cult leader Paul Mackenzie has been sentenced to 200 years in prison for orchestrating the deaths of 190 children and one adult who were starved to death under his instructions in the Shakahola Forest.
According to TRT Afrika, the Mombasa High Court delivered the sentence on Friday, November 6, 2026, with Justice Diana Kavedza imposing two separate 100-year prison terms for murder through starvation and direct homicide.
Mackenzie, who founded and led the Good News International Church, was accused of persuading his followers to abandon food and starve themselves and their children in the belief that doing so would prepare them to meet Jesus before the end of the world.
Prosecutors told the court that the religious leader organised the deadly fasting activities in a remote forest settlement, where followers were subjected to extreme conditions that ultimately claimed hundreds of lives.
The court heard that Mackenzie’s associates used threats and physical violence to force victims to obey the fasting instructions, while some people who resisted were beaten, restrained or prevented from accessing food and water.
Investigators uncovered the scale of the tragedy in April 2023 after police began exhuming bodies from shallow graves in Shakahola Forest in coastal Kilifi County, with some victims reportedly found buried in latrines.
Justice Kavedza ruled that 183 victims died through starvation, while eight others were murdered through direct violence, bringing the number of victims covered by the trial to 191.
Mackenzie was convicted alongside 28 associates, who also received lengthy prison sentences ranging from 10 to 160 years for their respective roles in the killings.
Although Mackenzie denied forcing his followers to starve, the court rejected his defence, while his legal team indicated plans to challenge the ruling through an appeal.
The Shakahola tragedy shocked Kenya and triggered nationwide demands for stronger oversight of religious organisations, with authorities reporting that 448 bodies had been recovered from the forest as investigations into other suspected deaths continued.
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