Pastor Sentenced to 200 years for causing the deaths of 191 Christians, including 190 children

The Mombasa High Court on Friday sentenced Paul Nthenge Mackenzie to 200 years in prison for the murder of 191 members of his Good News International Church, including 190 children. The court had found him guilty on October 19, alongside 28 other defendants.

A Kenyan court has sentenced self-proclaimed pastor and leader of the Good News International Church, Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, to 200 years in prison for the deaths of 191 people, including 190 children, in the Shakahola Forest tragedy.
In a post shared via X on Friday, November 6, 2026, Kenyan broadcaster NTV Kenya reported the sentencing, which was delivered by the High Court in Mombasa.
The court found Mackenzie guilty of directing his followers to starve themselves and their children to death in an attempt to reach heaven and meet Jesus.

The events took place between 2021 and 2023 on a 325-hectare ranch in the Shakahola Forest, near Malindi, a coastal town in southeastern Kenya. The preacher had gathered his followers there, promising that they would meet Jesus if they starved themselves to death. The judge rejected the defence’s argument that the children had fasted voluntarily.

The first bodies were discovered in April 2023. Since then, more than 400 bodies have been exhumed from the area, and over 200 witnesses have testified during the trial. The tragedy shocked Kenya, a country with a strong religious tradition. Mackenzie had been in custody since April 14, 2023, the day he surrendered to authorities following the discovery of the first victims.

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