Shakahola Massacre: Kenyan Court Jails Doomsday Pastor 200 Years Over 191 Deaths

A Kenyan High Court has sentenced controversial preacher Paul Nthenge Mackenzie to 200 years in prison for his role in the deaths of 191 people, including 190 children, in one of the country’s deadliest religious cult tragedies.

The sentence was handed down on Friday, November 6, 2026, by Justice Diana Kavedza of the High Court in Mombasa, following Mackenzie’s conviction for orchestrating the deaths of his followers through starvation and direct killings.

Mackenzie, the leader of the Good News International Church, was found guilty of directing followers to starve themselves and their children to death in the belief that doing so would enable them to meet Jesus before the end of the world.

The court held that Mackenzie bore primary criminal responsibility for the deaths, having allegedly relocated his followers to the remote Shakahola settlement in Kilifi County, where he established and enforced an extreme fasting programme.

According to the judgment, the 200-year prison sentence comprises two separate 100-year terms: one for murder by starvation and another for murder through direct homicide. The court ordered the sentences to run consecutively.

Of the 191 victims covered by the murder trial, 183 died from starvation, including 182 children and one adult, while eight other children were killed through direct violence, including suffocation, strangulation and blunt-force injuries.

Justice Kavedza described the killings as calculated and rejected Mackenzie’s defence that his followers had voluntarily chosen to fast.

The court found that the victims were subjected to an organised system of religious indoctrination and coercion, with children among the first to be targeted.

The judge also highlighted the treatment of children who resisted the fasting instructions, noting that some were reportedly restrained, locked up and beaten when they attempted to eat or drink.

In one particularly disturbing finding, the court heard that a baby survived for only 12 days after birth after being denied its mother’s milk and left to die.

Mackenzie was not the only person convicted in connection with the tragedy. Twenty-eight other defendants were found guilty alongside him and handed lengthy prison sentences for their respective roles in the killings.

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His assistant pastor and deputy, Smart Deri Mwakalama, received 160 years in prison.

According to the sentencing breakdown, 14 other convicts also received 160-year prison terms, while 10 were sentenced to 140 years each. Michael Mweri Baya received 100 years, while Enos Amanya Ngala and Pastor Lucas Owino Ogola were sentenced to 10 years each.

The court considered the individual roles played by the defendants, the gravity of their offences and the vulnerability of the victims when determining their sentences.

The prosecution had sought the death penalty for Mackenzie and life imprisonment for his accomplices. However, his lawyer, Lawrence Obonyo, announced plans to appeal, arguing that the lengthy sentences effectively amounted to life imprisonment.

The tragedy, popularly known as the Shakahola massacre, came to international attention in April 2023 after Kenyan authorities began uncovering mass graves in Shakahola Forest, near Malindi in coastal Kilifi County.

Investigations revealed that Mackenzie had allegedly persuaded followers to abandon conventional lifestyles, relocate to the remote forest and observe extreme fasting as a means of attaining salvation.

Some members reportedly abandoned their homes and moved into the forest, where they lived in makeshift structures and followed the preacher’s instructions.

The court established that the fasting programme was enforced through a structured hierarchy. Guards allegedly prevented followers from escaping, while those who resisted were beaten, restrained or confined.

Children were reportedly instructed to fast first, followed by young people, women and men.

Investigators recovered hundreds of bodies from shallow graves and other locations across the settlement. Some victims were reportedly buried alive, while others died from starvation or physical violence.

The prosecution relied on extensive forensic and medical evidence, DNA analysis, digital recordings, physical exhibits and witness testimonies to establish the circumstances surrounding the deaths.

The trial reportedly involved 120 prosecution witnesses and nine defence witnesses, with the court also considering post-mortem examinations and eyewitness accounts.

Although 191 deaths formed the basis of the murder trial, the wider Shakahola investigation uncovered a much larger tragedy.

Authorities recovered 448 bodies from the forest, according to Reuters, while other official records have cited different figures as investigations and identification exercises progressed.

More than 60 bodies were reportedly identified and handed over to relatives for burial, while many others remained unidentified.

Mackenzie is also facing separate allegations involving another 52 deaths discovered at a different location, approximately 30 kilometres from Shakahola Forest. That matter is being handled separately, and the allegations should not be confused with the 191 deaths covered by the latest judgment.

The discovery of the mass graves triggered widespread outrage in Kenya and raised serious questions about the failure of security and government institutions to prevent the tragedy.

Mackenzie had reportedly come under the attention of law enforcement agencies as far back as 2017 over allegations of radicalisation. His church was shut down in 2019, but he subsequently relocated his activities to Shakahola.

Following the discovery of the graves in 2023, Kenyan President William Ruto acknowledged the government’s failure to prevent the deaths and called for stronger measures against religious extremism.

The sentencing has renewed calls for tighter oversight of religious organisations and improved protection for vulnerable people, particularly children.

For families who lost relatives, however, the lengthy prison terms cannot undo the devastating consequences of the tragedy.

The case has become a landmark development in Kenya’s efforts to prosecute religious extremism and prevent religious teachings from being used to justify violence, coercion and mass killings.