A Kenyan court has sentenced cult leader Paul Mackenzie to 200 years in prison for ordering the starvation deaths of 190 children in one of the country’s deadliest cult-related killings.
Mackenzie, who led an apocalyptic Christian group, was sentenced on Friday by Justice Diana Kavedza at the Mombasa High Court.
The sentence comprises 100 years for murder by starvation and another 100 years for direct homicide.
Prosecutors said Mackenzie instructed his followers to starve themselves and their children to death to reach heaven before the end of the world.
Some victims were reportedly buried alive, while others were beaten, locked up and denied food and water. Their bodies were later discovered in shallow graves and latrines in Shakahola Forest, near the coastal town of Malindi.
The court also sentenced 28 accomplices to prison terms ranging from 10 to 160 years. They were all convicted at a trial last month.
Mackenzie denied the murder charges, claiming he did not force anyone to starve. However, the court rejected his defence.
Reading the judgment, Justice Kavedza said Mackenzie used his charismatic media presence, including sermons broadcast on YouTube, to gain the trust of vulnerable followers and target children.
She described how children watched their siblings die after days without food, while those who attempted to steal food or water were beaten and restrained.
Mackenzie’s lawyer, Lawrence Obonyo, said the defence would appeal the judgment.
448 Bodies Recovered From Shakahola Forest
The case attracted international attention in April 2023 when Kenyan police began discovering bodies in Shakahola Forest.
Although the trial covered the deaths of 190 children and one adult, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights said 448 bodies were eventually recovered from the forest.
Mackenzie is also facing a separate case involving the deaths of 52 people discovered at another location in a village about 30 kilometres away. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges.
The suspected death toll across the two locations could reach 500.
The killings have been compared with other major cult-related mass deaths, including the 2000 Uganda doomsday cult killings, in which more than 700 people died.
Families Demand Answers
The sentencing brought mixed emotions for families who lost loved ones in the tragedy.
Stephen Mwiti, who lost six children to the cult, said his wife had taken the children to Shakahola, where they were starved to death.
He questioned why children had to suffer because of their parents’ religious beliefs.
Another victim’s relative, Suleiman Zero, broke down outside the court. His wife and six children remain missing.
Although he welcomed the sentence, he appealed to the government to help locate his family and recover their bodies if they were dead.
Dan Mackenzie, one of the cult leader’s sons, said he escaped the group as a teenager after losing faith in its promises of heaven. He also lost friends and a younger brother in the tragedy.
Authorities Accused of Ignoring Warning Signs
Justice Kavedza criticised Kenyan authorities for failing to prevent the killings despite repeated warning signs dating back to 2017, when police first searched Mackenzie’s premises.
Authorities shut down his church in Malindi in 2019, but he subsequently relocated to Shakahola Forest.
The discoveries prompted calls for tighter government oversight of religious organisations. However, proposals backed by the government and Senate have yet to become law.
Ojiro Odhiambo of the Kenya Human Rights Commission said the convictions were an important step but insisted that accountability should extend to local administrators, police officers, intelligence officials and religious leaders who allegedly failed to act on warnings.
Justice Kavedza also called on parliament to introduce measures to prevent similar incidents.
In 2023, President William Ruto accepted responsibility for the government’s failure to prevent the deaths.
