Paul Mackenzie, founder of Good News International Church, was sentenced Friday to 200 years in prison for the deaths of 190 children and one adult, according to CNN.
Mackenzie received a 100-year prison sentence for the murders of 183 victims who died of starvation and another 100-year sentence for the murders of eight victims who were suffocated, strangled, or beaten to death, according to CNN.
Convicted Kenyan cult leader Paul Mackenzie arrived at Mombasa Law Courts for sentencing after being found guilty of murdering 190 children and one adult https://t.co/3DWtrKv8qZ pic.twitter.com/7ZjHBlQA2x
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 6, 2026
The Kenyan cult leader convinced his followers to move to the Shakahola Forest, where he used religious teachings to enforce fasts he said would bring them closer to God and prepare them for heaven, CNN reported. Mackenzie used guards and punishment to enforce his teachings.
A 2023 report from the Kenya Senate indicates Mackenzie was Catholic before joining the African Brotherhood Church (ABC). He had a falling out with the ABC, moved to the Ushindi Baptist Church, and then began his informal ministry. Mackenzie's ministry was registered in 2010, and he moved to the Shakahola Forest in 2019.
Mackenzie preached that the end times would occur in August 2023 and asked his followers to "fast and refrain from food in order to meet Jesus," according to the same report. The children were set to die first, followed by the adults, with Mackenzie and his family dying last. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Police, Judges And 'Coup' Allegations: Poland's Government Erupts Into Chaos)
Twenty-eight of Mackenzie's followers, including guards who enforced his rules, were also convicted of murder by the Mombasa High Court, according to CBS News. In addition, Mackenzie faces terrorism, child abuse, and torture charges in two other unspecified courts.
Mackenzie was arrested in 2023 after the authorities received a tip about his actions. He was previously arrested in 2017 on "radicalization" charges, the outlet reported.
In 2023, authorities began exhuming bodies buried in shallow graves at the Chakama Ranch in Shakahola, where Mackenzie's followers lived. The alleged killings were described as "cold and calculated," according to CBS News.
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