Doomsday cult leader learns fate for murders of 190 children
Summary
A Kenyan court sentenced Good News International Church leader Paul Mackenzie to 200 years in prison for the murders of 191 people, including 190 children. The court said most victims died after followers were ordered to fast, and investigators have linked the cult to more than 400 deaths overall.Key Facts
- The High Court in Mombasa sentenced Mackenzie on Friday, Nov. 6, 2026.
- The court convicted Mackenzie and 28 other people of murdering 191 people; all 29 were found guilty on Oct. 19.
- Justice Diana Kavedza said Mackenzie had primary responsibility for moving followers to a remote site and ordering them to fast.
- The court classified 183 victims’ deaths as starvation and eight as direct homicide.
- Mackenzie’s assistant pastor, Smart Mwakalama, received a 160-year prison sentence.
- More than 400 bodies were exhumed in 2023 from shallow graves on Chakama Ranch in coastal Kilifi County.
- Kenya’s National Commission on Human Rights reported a death toll of 429 in 2024; many victims remain unidentified.
- Mackenzie also faces terrorism, child abuse and torture charges in two other courts.
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