A Kenyan court has sentenced self-proclaimed religious leader Paul Mackenzie to 200 years in prison for the deaths of 191 people, including 190 children, who were allegedly starved to death by his followers in the Shakahola Forest in eastern Kenya.
The Mombasa High Court handed down the sentence on Friday, November 6. More than two dozen of Mackenzie’s associates were also sentenced in connection with the case.
Mackenzie, founder of the Good News International Church, had persuaded his followers to abandon their homes and settle in Shakahola Forest, promising that prolonged fasting would bring them closer to God and prepare them for entry into heaven.
Last month, the court found Mackenzie guilty of the deaths of 190 children and one adult between January 2021 and September 2023. Twenty-eight of his associates were also convicted in the same case. Mackenzie’s lawyer said the defence would appeal the verdict.
Mackenzie also faces separate charges related to manslaughter and terrorism, which he has denied.
Hundreds of bodies have been discovered in Shakahola Forest since 2023, near the coastal tourist town of Malindi. The tragedy became widely known as the “Shakahola Forest Massacre”. According to Kenya’s National Commission on Human Rights, the death toll stood at 429 in 2024, with the identities of some victims still unknown.
Prosecutors had sought the death penalty for Mackenzie, citing the scale and brutality of the killings. However, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Jami Yamina said earlier this week that the prosecution had considered factors including Mackenzie’s remorse, expression of regret, prospects for rehabilitation and the possibility of a reduced sentence.
Although Kenya retains the death penalty under its laws, the country has not carried out an execution since 1987.
During the trial, around 120 prosecution witnesses testified. Their accounts revealed that the religious group described formal education as “satanic” and portrayed modern medicine and hospitals as instruments of the devil. Followers were also reportedly instructed to cut themselves off completely from the outside world.
Source: Reuters
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