Paul Mackenzie jailed for 200 years over Shakahola Massacre

Self-proclaimed Kenyan preacher Paul Nthenge Mackenzie has been sentenced to 200 years in prison for his role in the deaths of 191 people at Shakahola Forest in Kilifi County.

Mackenzie, the leader of Good News International Church, was sentenced by High Court Judge Diana Kavedza on Friday after being convicted of murder arising from the deaths of 190 children and one adult between January 2021 and September 2023.

The court also handed 160-year jail terms to 15 co-convicts, while 10 others were sentenced to 140 years imprisonment. Another convict received a 100-year sentence, while two others, Enos Amanya Ngala and Lucas Owino, were each jailed for 10 years.

Amanya received his 10-year sentence after entering into a plea-bargaining agreement with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), through which he pleaded guilty to all 191 counts of murder.

In its judgment, the court found that the prosecution had proved all 191 counts, comprising 183 murders by starvation, eight murders through direct homicide and the death of one adult.

Justice Kavedza ruled that starvation was established as the cause of death in 72 cases, while other victims died from asphyxia, manual neck compression and traumatic head injuries.

The court further established that the cause of death could not be determined in 110 cases because of advanced decomposition. However, the circumstances surrounding the deaths, including the fasting regime imposed on followers, supported the inference that the victims had also died from starvation.

The judgment found that Mackenzie radicalised members of Good News International Church through teachings that promoted an extreme belief system and encouraged followers to abandon conventional social and religious institutions.

According to the court, Mackenzie portrayed formal education as satanic, rejected modern medicine and hospitals as instruments of the devil, and depicted the government, identification programmes such as Huduma Number and civic institutions as manifestations of the biblical beast of Revelation.

The court heard that followers were instructed to distance themselves from what Mackenzie referred to as “watu wa mataifa” and relocate to “kanisa Jangwani”, described as the church in the wilderness at Shakahola.

As part of the relocation, followers sold their property, resigned from employment, withdrew their children from school and destroyed identification documents before moving to Chakama Ranch in Malindi.

The settlement was divided into biblical villages, including Galilaya, Judea, Tiro, Bethlehem, Sidoni, Samaria and Sikari.

The court further established that Mackenzie directed followers to fast to death in order to meet Jesus, prescribing an order that required children to die first, followed by youths, women and men, before he and his family could undertake the final fast.

Those who resisted the directive were subjected to force, including kicks and blows, while others were confined and denied food and water until they died.

In its determination, the court emphasised that parental responsibility is a legal obligation to safeguard a child's life, health and welfare, and does not give parents ownership over their children.

Justice Kavedza ruled that no parent has the legal right to determine that a child should die in pursuit of religious beliefs.

The court further held that parents who knowingly subjected their children to the fatal fasting regime and maintained conditions that prevented them from accessing food or escaping could be held causally responsible for their deaths.

Mackenzie registered Good News International Church as a religious society in 2020, serving as its chairman, while Smart Deri was listed as secretary. The church had its headquarters in Furunzi, Malindi, and operated approximately 35 branches across Kenya.