Kenyan pastor receives 200-year prison term for cult mass deaths
Judge finds Mackenzie primarily responsible for the starvation of 191 followers at a remote ranch in Kilifi County.
By Grace Sullivan ·
Paul Mackenzie, the leader of the Good News International Church in Kenya, was sentenced to 200 years in prison on Friday for the murders of 191 people. The High Court in Mombasa issued the verdict after Mackenzie was convicted of ordering his followers to starve themselves to meet Jesus.
Justice Diana Kavedza stated that Mackenzie bore the primary criminal culpability for moving his congregation to a remote area and directing them to fast until death. The court ruled that his specific actions drove the mass fatalities, distinguishing his role from the other defendants in the case.
Mackenzie faced trial alongside 28 other accused individuals. The group included guards who enforced the fasting rules and gravediggers who assisted in hiding the bodies. All 29 defendants denied the charges, with the exception of one person who confessed and requested a lighter sentence.
The guilty verdicts for all 29 accused were delivered on Oct. 19. The sentence covers the deaths of 190 children and one adult. The total number of victims attributed to the cult exceeds 400, as more bodies were later discovered at the site.
The incidents took place at Chakama Ranch, an 800-acre property in coastal Kilifi County. Followers resided in mud huts on the land, which allowed the group to operate away from the scrutiny of local communities and authorities. In 2023, investigators exhumed over 400 bodies from shallow graves at the ranch.
