Kenyan Cult Leader: Paul Mackenzie Gets 200 Years for 191 Murders
The High Court in Mombasa sentenced the head of Good News International Church after a trial that included 28 other convicted followers.
By Jillian Foster ·
A Kenyan court handed down a 200-year prison term to the leader of a doomsday group linked to the deaths of over 400 people. Justice Diana Kavedza of the High Court in Mombasa issued the verdict on Friday.
Mackenzie was convicted of killing 191 individuals, which includes 190 children and one adult. He ordered his followers to fast until death to meet Jesus. The judge ruled that Mackenzie bore the primary criminal culpability for moving the group to a remote site and enforcing the starvation protocol.
The court found 29 defendants guilty in October. The group included guards who enforced the fasting rules and gravediggers who buried the victims. All defendants denied the charges, with the exception of one man who confessed and asked for a reduced sentence. The prosecution had sought the death penalty for Mackenzie and life in prison for his co-defendants.
The bodies were found in 2023 on Chakama Ranch in Kilifi County. Investigators exhumed more than 400 remains from shallow graves on the 800-acre property. Over 60 victims were identified by their families and reburied. The remaining bodies have not been claimed. Kavedza noted that 183 victims died from a complete lack of food, while eight were killed by direct homicide.
Mackenzie’s assistant pastor, Smart Mwakalama, received a 160-year sentence. During the reading of the verdict, Mackenzie smiled and spoke with Mwakalama. The defense attorney, Lawrence Obonyo, filed an appeal immediately. He argued that the long sentences effectively amount to life imprisonment and circumvent the constitution.
Suleiman Ziro, who lost his wife and six children to the cult, traveled 120 kilometers to attend the sentencing. He called the sentence insufficient and requested the death penalty. Dan Mackenzie, the leader’s son, stated that the conviction brought justice to the victims. He said he escaped the cult by rebelling against his father’s teachings. Two of his brothers and three sisters are currently living in a children’s home. All 29 convicted individuals have 14 days to file a formal appeal.
