Kenyan preacher sentenced to 200 years in prison over deaths of 191 people in starvation cult

A self-proclaimed Kenyan preacher has been sentenced to 200 years in prison for the murder of 190 children and one adult in a starvation cult that claimed hundreds of lives in the coastal region of the country.

Paul Mackenzie, a former taxi driver who presented himself as a pastor, was convicted last month of murdering 191 people between January 2021 and September 2023. He was among 29 people convicted in connection with the killings.

The case, widely known as the 'Shakahola Forest Massacre', came to light in 2023 after hundreds of bodies were discovered at the cult's base near the coastal resort town of Malindi.

A court on Friday sentenced Mackenzie to 100 years in prison for homicide and another 100 years for offences related to starvation. His accomplices, several of whom had allowed their own children to starve to death, received lengthy prison terms.

Mackenzie was accused of encouraging his followers to starve themselves to death in the belief that doing so would help them 'meet Jesus'.

Describing the suffering endured by the victims, the judge said children had watched their siblings die while their parents continued to eat and drink.

"Some died as a result of strangulation, severely beaten," the judge said, adding that children had been subjected to extreme suffering, terrifying living conditions and psychological trauma.

Mackenzie remained impassive as the sentence was read out, maintaining the same demeanour he had displayed throughout the trial.

Prosecutors had sought the death penalty. However, the judge said capital punishment would not serve as an effective deterrent, particularly because the convicts viewed death as a path to heaven and reunion with Jesus and their deceased children.

Kenya retains the death penalty, although it has not carried out an execution since 1987.

Families demand accountability

The verdict has brought little comfort to families who lost loved ones in the cult.

Francis Wanje, a 62-year-old teacher who lost two grandchildren, told AFP that he had hoped Mackenzie would receive the death penalty to prevent similar tragedies.

Another of his grandchildren, now 11, was rescued in March 2023 after going without food for eight days.

Wanje testified that his two other grandchildren, aged two and five, had died after their parents, following the preacher's instructions, prevented them from eating or drinking.

"Nothing can ease the pain," he said, expressing anger over the authorities' failure to intervene earlier.

"If they had taken action, we would not be here today," he added.

Mackenzie's lawyer has said he will appeal the verdict. The preacher also faces separate manslaughter and terrorism charges in other cases, which he denies.

Around 120 prosecution witnesses testified during the trial.

How the starvation cult operated

According to witness accounts, the movement discouraged formal education, describing it as 'satanic', and portrayed modern medicine and hospitals as instruments of the devil. Followers were also required to cut ties with the outside world.

Mackenzie was arrested in April 2023 after a rights group alerted authorities. Some followers were rescued from the 325-hectare ranch in Shakahola Forest, on Kenya's coast.

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights estimated the death toll at 429 in 2024, with some victims still unidentified.

The massacre triggered widespread calls for tighter regulation of religious organisations. It also raised questions about how Mackenzie had managed to continue operating despite previous encounters with law enforcement.

He established the Good News International Church in 2003 and opened branches in Nairobi and along Kenya's coast, attracting thousands of followers. However, he claimed that the church had closed in 2019.

Mackenzie was first arrested in 2017 on charges of radicalisation but was acquitted. He was arrested again in 2019 in connection with the deaths of two children in Shakahola but was released on bail.

AP