Cult chief jailed for 200 years for killing 190 youngsters in starve to satisfy Jesus ritual
A cult leader behind the Shakahola Forest massacre, who urged his followers to starve themselves and their children to death to reach heaven, has been sentenced to a staggering 200 in behind bars
Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Mackenzie(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
A cult leader who murdered 190 children and an adult after telling them they should starve themselves to death to meet Jesus has been jailed for 200 years.
Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Mackenzie ran a cult in which he urged his followers to starve themselves death so they could reach heaven before the word ended.
Since 2023 hundreds of bodies have been found near the coastal resort of Malindi in what has been dubbed the “Shakahola Forest Massacre.”
Last month, Mackenzie was found guilty of the murder of 190 children and one adult. Mackenzie also faces separate manslaughter and terrorism charges. The mass murderer cult leader denies these charges brought against him.
Paul Mackenzie has been sentenced to 200 years in prison
In one of the worst cult related tragedies in recent history Mackenzie ordered his followers to starve themselves and their children to death to go to heaven before the world ended.
The prosecution stated Mackenzie “initiated and directed” extreme fasting at the compound and said he created a “structured hierarchy of death” which required children to die first, followed by teenagers, women, and then men.
Post-mortems and police reports show children died from starvation, asphyxia, neck compression and traumatic head injury, among the causes of death, prosecutors said.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions has urged the court to sentence Mackenzie to death following the horrific cult massacre.
Prosecutors stated Mackenzie ran a ‘structured hierarchy of death’(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
The death penalty is legal in Kenya but the country has not carried out a state execution since 1987. Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Jami Yamina has said: “The prosecution supports the imposition of capital punishment for Mackenzie, subject to consideration of his mitigation, remorse, regret and prospects of rehabilitation.”
Francis Wanje, 62, who lost two grandchildren in the cult massacre, has called for Mackenzie to be sentenced to death.
Wanje has stated: “Nothing can ease the pain,” and has blamed authorities for failing to act faster to prevent the tragedy.
He added: “I really have great (anger) towards the authorities. If they had taken action, we would not be here today.”
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights believes as many as 429 starved themselves to death as part of the horrific cult ritual.
Local morgues ran out of space due to the horrific death toll(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Some victims of the mass starvation are currently unidentified. Police were first made aware of the horrors going on in the compound, when a human rights group alerted them after they rescued some “followers”. Police attended the scene and then uncovered hundreds of shallow mass graves.
The death toll climbed so high that local morgues ran out of space and excavations had to pause.
Mackenzie founded the Good News International Church in 2003 and opened branches in Nairobi and along Kenya’s coast, attracting thousands of followers. He claims the church closed in 2019.
The case has triggered calls for tighter regulation of religious organisations following the revelation Mackenzie had been arrested and released twice in the past.
Paul Mackenzie has been sentenced to 200 years in prison for murdering 190 children and one adult in the “Shakahola Forest Massacre.”
