'Meet Jesus': Kenyan Cult Leader Sentenced to 200 Years for Starving 190 Children to Death

Kenyan cult leader Paul Mackenzie was sentenced to 200 years in prison at Mombasa High Court on Friday in connection with the murder of 191 people, including 190 children. Justice Diana Mochache stated that he bore the 'primary criminal culpability' for ordering followers to starve themselves.

Mackenzie, founder of the Good News International Church, had persuaded followers to abandon their homes and relocate to Shakahola Forest in eastern Kenya. He promised that fasting there would bring them closer to God and prepare them for heaven.

The deaths occurred during a campaign of abuse and forced fasting involving Mackenzie and his followers.

Kenyan Cult Leader Sentenced Alongside Other Defendants

More than two dozen others were sentenced alongside Mackenzie. Before the court imposed its punishment, prosecutors sought the death penalty because of the severity of the crimes, also citing what they described as his lack of remorse.

The prosecution requested life sentences for his co-conspirators. Kenya had not carried out capital punishment since 1987, although prosecutors sought that penalty for Mackenzie in this case.

Mochache explained the sentence in terms of the punishment warranted by the crimes and the message it would convey.

'The sentence is appropriate and just, to send an unmistakable message that such atrocities warrant the maximum penalties allowed by law,' the judge stated.

Before their conviction, Mackenzie and his co-accused repeatedly insisted that nobody was forced to die. Their position contrasted with a co-conspirator's description of Mackenzie's instructions concerning followers who resisted fasting.

Grave Discovery Preceded Kenyan Cult Leader's Arrest

Mackenzie was arrested in 2023 after 400 bodies were discovered in shallow graves in Shakahola Forest, near the Kenyan coast. The discovery prompted a major investigation into the deaths and drew international attention.

The figure of 400 relates to the bodies discovered in the forest. Mackenzie's 200-year sentence was in connection with the murder of 191 people, including 190 children.

For Francis Wanje, the case involved the loss of eight relatives, including two grandchildren. Speaking to the BBC before sentencing, he expressed his hope that Mackenzie's punishment would reflect what had happened in the forest.

Wanje told the broadcaster that he was 'hoping for... a sentence which will match his [Mackenzie's] deeds in the forest.'

His comments came before Friday's decision. The court subsequently imposed the 200-year prison term on Mackenzie, whose followers had abandoned their homes and moved to Shakahola Forest.

Kenyan Cult Leader's Fasting Directives And Followers' Beliefs

Mackenzie instructed members to starve their children to death so they could 'meet Jesus'. His promises about fasting presented it to followers as a way to approach God and prepare for heaven.

Mochache described the authority Mackenzie held among his followers, stating that they believed he was 'Jesus's mouthpiece'. One co-conspirator described instructions for violence against those who resisted the directive to fast.

According to the co-conspirator, Mackenzie told followers that anyone who 'resisted the directive to fast must be forced to go to heaven through kicks and blows.'

The judge also described the language surrounding burials inside the forest. These were called 'weddings', and those who died 'were celebrated as having wedded with Jesus,' Mochache stated.