Kenyan court sentences Paul Mackenzie to 200 years for starving 190 children
The cult leader was convicted of ordering followers in Shakahola Forest to fast until death, a ruling that covers 190 child victims and one adult.
By Simon Bennett ·
Justice Diana Kavedza handed down a 200-year prison sentence to Paul Mackenzie on Friday for the murder of 190 children and one adult. The court split the term into two equal parts, assigning 100 years for murder by starvation and another 100 years for direct homicide. The ruling concluded a trial that focused on the most documented victims of the Shakahola Forest tragedy.
Mackenzie led an apocalyptic Christian group based in a forest near the Indian Ocean coast in eastern Kenya. Prosecutors stated that he instructed his followers to starve themselves and their children to reach heaven before the world ended. His accomplices enforced these orders by threatening and beating victims. Police discovered the emaciated bodies in shallow graves and latrines, with some evidence suggesting the victims were buried while still alive.
The case came to light in April 2023 when police began uncovering bodies in Shakahola Forest, located near the coastal town of Malindi. While the trial addressed 191 specific victims, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights reported finding 448 bodies in the forest. Mackenzie faces additional charges for the deaths of 52 people found in a village 30 kilometers away, which would bring the suspected total death toll to 500. He has pleaded not guilty in that separate case.
Stephen Mwiti, 48, lost six of his children in the massacre. His wife, a convicted accomplice, took the children to the forest where they were starved. Mwiti questioned the logic of the fasting ritual, asking what became of the children if the adults had agreed to fast. He stated that he expected Mackenzie to receive the death penalty or life in prison to prevent him from causing more deaths. Mwiti noted that he could not get his children back regardless of the sentence.
Dan Mackenzie, the son of the convicted leader, said his father did not spare his own family. Dan left the church because he stopped believing in the promise of heaven. He lost friends and a younger brother in the tragedy. He described the verdict as justice for those lost in Shakahola. Paul Mackenzie wore a grey polo shirt and black trousers as he entered a tent outside the court. He smiled upon arrival and maintained that he did not force the victims to starve, a defense the court rejected.
Authorities had monitored Mackenzie since 2017, when police searched his premises. In 2019, officials shut down his church in Malindi, prompting him to relocate to the forest. The scale of the killings draws comparisons to other mass casualty events involving cults, including the 2000 deaths in Uganda and the 1978 Jonestown massacre in Guyana. The incident has prompted calls in Kenya for tighter oversight of religious groups.
President William Ruto appointed a task force in May 2023 to review the legal framework for religious organizations. Government and Senate proposals were published in 2024 but have not yet become law. Ojiro Odhiambo, head of rapid response at the Kenya Human Rights Commission, called the conviction an important step. He argued that accountability should extend to local administrators, police, and intelligence officers who failed to act on warning signs. Ruto stated in 2023 that he took responsibility for the government's failure to prevent the deaths.
