By Karim Hammam
Kenyan doomsday sect leader Paul Mackenzie has been sentenced to 200 years in prison for the murders of 190 children and one adult in the Shakahola forest.
Sentencing details
The sentence, delivered by a court in Mombasa, comprises 100 years for murder by starvation and 100 years for direct homicide. It follows a guilty verdict two weeks earlier.
Prosecutors said Mackenzie and his Good News International church ordered followers to starve themselves and their children to death to reach heaven before the world ended. Accomplices threatened and beat victims to ensure compliance.
Discovery and investigation
Emaciated bodies were found in shallow graves and latrines; some had been buried alive. Over 400 bodies have been recovered since Mackenzie's arrest in 2023, though only 26 have been identified.
Mackenzie denied forcing victims to starve, but the court rejected his defense. The case has gripped Kenya since mass graves were discovered in 2023, raising questions about how he operated despite being on authorities' radar since 2017.
History and oversight calls
In 2019, authorities shut down his church, after which he relocated to the Shakahola forest. The tragedy has prompted calls for stricter oversight of religious organizations in Kenya.
Mackenzie, a former taxi driver, forbade cult members from sending children to school or seeking medical care, labeling such institutions as satanic. Followers lived in makeshift homes in areas with biblical names.
Ongoing cases
The investigation began in March 2023 after a man reported his brother and wife had starved their children on Mackenzie's orders. Mackenzie was arrested, released on bail, then re-arrested after he accelerated the predicted end date.
The current judgment covers 191 deaths, while investigations into more than 200 other deaths continue. Justice Kavedza Mochache detailed instances where children were isolated and denied food while parents watched. Mackenzie faces additional charges, including terrorism, and is accused of directing the deaths of 52 people in Kwa Binzaro village while in detention. He has pleaded not guilty in that case.
