The High Court in Mombasa, Kenya, has sentenced Paul Mackenzie, the leader of the Good News International Church, to 200 years in prison following his conviction for the murders of 191 people. Mackenzie, a self-styled pastor who commanded his followers to starve themselves to death in order to meet Jesus, was convicted of killing 190 children and one adult. The doomsday cult has been linked to more than 400 total deaths in coastal Kenya.
Delivering the sentence on Friday, Justice Diana Kavedza stated that Mackenzie held the primary criminal culpability for relocating his followers to a remote area and ordering them to fast to death. Justice Kavedza characterized the killings as cold and calculated, rejecting claims by some of the accused that losing their own children altered their participation in the murder of other children. She noted that the defendants showed no remorse and had declared themselves ready to fast to death as well. During the sentencing, Mackenzie was seen smiling and conversing with his assistant pastor, Smart Mwakalama, who was sentenced to 160 years in prison.
Mackenzie was tried alongside 28 followers, including security guards who enforced the fatal fasting directives and gravediggers who concealed mass graves. On Oct. 19, the court found all 29 defendants guilty of 191 counts of murder. While 28 of the accused denied the charges, one individual confessed and requested leniency from the court. All of those convicted have been granted 14 days to lodge an appeal against the court's decision.
The criminal case followed the 2023 exhumations on the remote, 800-acre (320-hectare) Chakama Ranch in coastal Kilifi County, where cult members lived in mud huts away from local communities and authorities. Officials exhumed more than 400 bodies from shallow graves across the property. Justice Kavedza detailed during sentencing that 183 of the murder victims died of starvation, defined as a complete lack of food, while eight deaths were classified as murder by direct homicide. Relatives have positively identified and reburied more than 60 bodies, while many others remain unidentified and unclaimed.
The prosecution had sought the death penalty for Mackenzie and life imprisonment for his co-defendants. Defense lawyer Lawrence Obonyo, representing Mackenzie and several others who were convicted, confirmed that an appeal has already been launched. Obonyo argued that the court was circling around the constitution to deliver an unattainable sentence, contending that prison terms ranging between 160 and 200 years amount to life sentences. In Kenya, individuals sentenced to death serve a life sentence in practice, as the country's last execution was carried out in 1987.
Family members affected by the cult expressed deep grief and mixed reactions following the court ruling. Suleiman Ziro, a father of seven who traveled 120 kilometers (75 miles) to attend the sentencing, lost his wife and six of his children to the cult in 2023. Ziro stated that the prison sentence was insufficient, calling for the death penalty especially because he has yet to recover the bodies of his family members. Meanwhile, Mackenzie's son, Dan Mackenzie, said he felt sorry for his father over the conviction but called it justice served to the victims. Dan Mackenzie explained that he survived by rebelling against his father's doctrines, for which he was frequently punished, and noted that two of his younger brothers and three sisters were rescued and are currently residing at a children's home.
The 200-year sentence does not conclude Mackenzie's legal proceedings. The cult leader continues to face separate charges of terrorism and manslaughter regarding more than 200 other victims, as well as child abuse and torture charges in two additional courts.
