Pastor Paul Mackenzie Sentenced to 200 Years for Cult Murders

Pastor Paul Mackenzie, the leader of the Good News International Church, received a sentence of 200 years in prison on Friday for the murder of 191 people. The High Court in Mombasa, Kenya, found Mackenzie guilty of ordering his followers to starve to death in an effort to meet Jesus. He had previously led the congregation to a remote location in Kilifi County, where members lived in mud huts on an 800-acre property known as Chakama Ranch.

Justice Diana Kavedza determined that Mackenzie bore the primary criminal culpability for the deaths. She stated that 183 victims died of starvation, while eight others died from direct homicide. Kavedza described the killings as cold and calculated, rejecting arguments from some defendants that the loss of their own children changed their role in the deaths of many others. She noted that the perpetrators showed no remorse and declared their willingness to fast to death themselves.

Mackenzie was tried alongside 28 other followers, including guards who enforced the fasting rules and gravediggers who helped hide mass graves. All 29 defendants were found guilty on October 19. One accomplice, Smart Mwakalama, received a sentence of 160 years. The other 27 defendants were also convicted, though specific sentence lengths for each were not detailed in the immediate court records. Mackenzie had faced additional charges for terrorism, manslaughter, child abuse, and torture in two other courts.

The case emerged after more than 400 bodies were exhumed from shallow graves at Chakama Ranch in 2023. Relatives have since identified and reburied more than 60 of the bodies, but many remain unclaimed. Suleiman Ziro, a father of seven who lost six children and his wife to the cult, traveled 120 kilometers to attend the sentencing. He argued that the sentence was insufficient and called for the death penalty, noting that he has not yet recovered the bodies of his loved ones.

Defense attorney Lawrence Obonyo stated that he has already filed an appeal for Mackenzie. Obonyo argued that the 200-year sentence is unattainable and effectively a life sentence, suggesting the court was circumventing constitutional guidelines. Mackenzie’s son, Dan Mackenzie, said he felt sorry for his father but believed justice was served to the victims. Dan Mackenzie, who escaped by rebelling against his father’s teachings, noted that two of his younger brothers and three sisters are currently at a children’s home.

The prosecution had originally sought the death penalty for Mackenzie and life imprisonment for his accomplices. In Kenya, those sentenced to death serve life sentences, with the last execution occurring in 1987. All convicted defendants have been granted 14 days to file formal appeals against the verdict.