Paul Mackenzie, the founder of Good News International Ministries, established an organized system compelling followers to starve their children so they could meet Jesus. While starvation caused the majority of the deaths, post-mortem examinations revealed that victims also suffered suffocation, strangulation, and fatal beatings when attempting to resist the fasting directives. With more than 400 bodies recovered from shallow graves, Mackenzie and other leaders still face outstanding legal charges that encompass terrorism and radicalization.
Key points
The court opted for life imprisonment instead of the requested death penalty after the de…: The court opted for life imprisonment instead of the requested death penalty after the defendants formally pleaded for mercy.
Cult members who actively resisted the fasting orders were beaten to death or killed thro…: Cult members who actively resisted the fasting orders were beaten to death or killed through suffocation and strangulation.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights concluded that local administration and pol…: The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights concluded that local administration and police officials repeatedly overlooked the cult's deadly operations.
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- Published
A Kenyan court has sentenced the leader of a doomsday cult, Paul Mackenzie, to life in prison for murdering 191 people, all but one of them children.
Alongside 27 others, Mackenzie was found guilty of the murders for instructing members of his cult to starve their children to death so they could "meet Jesus".
The self-styled pastor was arrested in 2023 after the discovery of more than 400 bodies in shallow graves in Shakahola forest near the Kenyan coast. The sprawling investigation into the cases shocked Kenya and drew international attention.
Ahead of sentencing, prosecutors in the court in Mombasa had argued for the death penalty for Mackenzie because of the gravity of the crimes.
The prosecutors also cited what they described as Mackenzie's lack of remorse for the crimes. They requested life sentences for his co-accused.
Before the hearing began on Friday morning, Francis Wanje, who lost eight relatives in Shakahola forest, including two grandchildren, told the BBC's Newsday programme that he was "hoping for... a sentence which will match his [Mackenzie's] deeds in the forest".
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