Kenyan cult leader Paul Mackenzie sentenced to 200 years over the deaths of 190 children
A court in Mombasa on November 6 found cult leader Paul Nthenge Mackenzie guilty of murdering 191 people in the Shakahola case and sentenced him to 200 years in prison.
On November 6, 2026, a court in Mombasa, Kenya found cult leader Paul Nthenge Mackenzie guilty of murdering 191 people — 190 children and one adult — and sentenced him to 200 years in prison. The sentence has two parts: 100 years for 193 counts of murder by starvation and another 100 years for 8 counts of direct murder, to be served consecutively.
The Shakahola tragedy
Paul Mackenzie is the founder of an apocalyptic church called Good News International Ministries. He ordered his followers to starve themselves and their children to death in order to 'meet Jesus.' Mass graves were discovered in the Shakahola forest in Kilifi County in March–April 2023; according to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), 448 bodies were exhumed in total.
The court's decision
The court rejected the prosecution's request for the death penalty. On October 19, 2026, 28 other people were found guilty alongside Mackenzie and sentenced to between 10 and 160 years. Separate cases against Mackenzie for manslaughter, terrorism and child cruelty are still pending.
Timeline
Mackenzie was arrested in 2023, charged in 2024 with the murder of 191 people, found guilty on October 19, 2026, and sentenced on November 6. The ruling was read out by Justice Diana Kavedza.
