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The leader of a Kenyan doomsday cult linked to the deaths of more than 400 people was sentenced on Friday to 200 years in prison for the murders of 191 people. The High Court in Kenya’s coastal city of Mombasa issued the sentence for Pastor Paul Mackenzie after he was convicted of murdering 190 children and one adult.
Cult Convictions and Additional Charges
Mackenzie ordered his followers to starve themselves to death in order to meet Jesus. He is also facing terrorism and manslaughter charges for the more than 200 other victims, as well as child abuse and torture charges in two other courts.
Justice Diana Kavedza stated that Mackenzie, who led the Good News International Church, bore the primary criminal culpability for relocating his followers to a remote location and instructing them to fast to death. Mackenzie stood trial alongside 28 of his followers, which included guards who enforced the fasting rules and gravediggers who helped conceal the mass graves.
All of the defendants denied the charges, except for one person who confessed and asked for leniency. On Oct. 19, the court found all 29 individuals guilty of murdering 191 people.
Mass Graves and Autopsy Findings
During 2023, authorities exhumed more than 400 bodies from shallow graves across the 800-acre, or 320-hectare, Chakama Ranch located in coastal Kilifi County. Followers of Mackenzie lived in mud huts at the ranch to stay away from the scrutiny of local communities and authorities.
Relatives have positively identified and reburied more than 60 bodies, while numerous other remains remain unidentified and unclaimed. Kavedza reported that 183 of the victims died of starvation, which is defined as a complete lack of food, while the deaths of the remaining eight victims were classified as murder by direct homicide.
The judge characterized the killings as cold and calculated and dismissed arguments from some accused individuals that losing their own children changed the reality that they participated in killing many other children. Kavedza noted that the perpetrators displayed no remorse and declared they were prepared to fast to death themselves. During the sentencing hearing, Mackenzie frequently smiled and conversed with his assistant pastor, Smart Mwakalama, who received a 160-year prison sentence.
Reactions and Legal Appeals
The prosecution had pushed for the death penalty for Mackenzie and life imprisonment for his accomplices. Defense lawyer Lawrence Obonyo, representing Mackenzie and several other convicted individuals, reported to The Associated Press that he had already initiated an appeal and described the sentences of 160 to 200 years as unattainable sentences that amount to life imprisonment.
Suleiman Ziro, a father of seven who traveled 120 kilometers, or 75 miles, to attend the sentencing, lost his wife and six children to the cult in 2023. He expressed that the punishment was insufficient, particularly because he has not yet recovered the bodies of his family members, and advocated for the death penalty.
Dan Mackenzie, the son of the cult leader, stated that he felt sorry for his father regarding the conviction but believed it represented justice served to the victims. He explained that he survived by rebelling against his father’s teachings and facing frequent punishments, while noting that two younger brothers and three sisters were rescued and currently reside in a children’s home.
All convicted individuals have been granted a 14-day window to file an appeal. In Kenyan courts, individuals sentenced to death serve a life sentence, with the country’s last execution taking place in 1987.
