MOMBASA, Kenya | A Kenyan court has sentenced self-proclaimed pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie to 200 years in prison for his role in the deaths of 191 people, including 190 children, who were starved to death in a religious cult’s compound in Shakahola Forest, in one of the country’s worst mass-casualty cases.
High Court Justice Diana Kavedza delivered the sentence on Friday, November 6, following Mackenzie’s conviction on 191 counts of murder. The punishment consists of 100 years for murder by starvation and another 100 years for direct homicide, according to Reuters.
Prosecutors established that Mackenzie, founder and leader of the Good News International Church, instructed his followers to starve themselves and their children to death to meet Jesus and reach heaven before the predicted end of the world. The court found that the deaths resulted from an organised system of religious indoctrination, intimidation and enforced fasting rather than voluntary religious practices.
The court rejected Mackenzie’s defence that he had not forced anyone to starve. Investigators and prosecutors presented evidence that accomplices helped enforce the orders through threats and physical violence, while some followers were prevented from escaping.
The conviction followed an October 19 ruling in which Justice Kavedza found Mackenzie and 28 co-accused guilty of all 191 murder counts. The trial heard extensive prosecution evidence, including witness accounts, forensic findings and medical examinations. The Kenya News Agency reported that 120 prosecution witnesses and nine defence witnesses testified during the proceedings.
The tragedy came to international attention in April 2023 after police began uncovering bodies in shallow graves across Shakahola Forest, part of Chakama Ranch in Kilifi County, near the coastal town of Malindi. Authorities eventually recovered 448 bodies from the forest, according to Reuters, although only 191 deaths were covered by the murder trial.
Mackenzie also faces a separate case involving 52 deaths at another location, approximately 30 kilometres from Shakahola. He has pleaded not guilty to those allegations, bringing the suspected overall death toll linked to the cases to about 500.
The Shakahola tragedy exposed serious failures in the monitoring of religious organisations and the protection of vulnerable followers. An investigation by Kenya’s Commission on Administrative Justice, or Office of the Ombudsman, found that authorities had received reports about Mackenzie’s activities between 2021 and 2023 but failed to take satisfactory action to prevent the deaths.
The case has intensified calls for stronger oversight of religious organisations in Kenya, while highlighting the devastating consequences of extremist teachings and the exploitation of religious belief.
Si Venus L Peñaflor ay naging editor-in-chief ng Newsworld, isang lokal na pahayagan ng Laguna. Publisher din siya ng Daystar Gazette at Tutubi News Magazine. Siya ay isa ring pintor at doll face designer ng Ninay Dolls, ang unang Manikang Pilipino. Kasali siya sa DesignCrowd sa rank na #305 sa 640,000 graphic designers sa buong daigdig. Kasama din siya sa unang Local TV Broadcast sa Laguna na Beyond Manila. Aktibong kasapi siya ng San Pablo Jaycees Senate bilang isang JCI Senator.
- Venus L Peñaflor
- Venus L Peñaflor
- Venus L Peñaflor
- Venus L Peñaflor
