Kenyan sect leader sentenced to 200 years for killing 191 people

The leader of the Kenyan sect “Good News International Church” Paul Mackenzie was sentenced in Mombasa to 200 years in prison for the murder of 191 people – 190 children and one adult, reports the Associated Press (AP).

According to the agency, Mackenzie ordered followers to starve to death "to meet Jesus." Judge Diana Caveza found he had "primary criminal responsibility" for relocating followers to a remote location and ordering them to starve to death. According to her, 183 victims died of starvation, and the deaths of eight more were classified as murder. Kaveza called the killings "cold-blooded and calculating.".

Along with McKenzie, 28 of his followers were on trial, including guards who monitored the hunger strike and gravediggers who helped hide mass graves. All but one denied the charges, with one defendant confessing and asking for leniency.

The judge also indicated that the convicts showed no remorse and declared their readiness to starve to death. During the sentencing, McKenzie often smiled and talked to his assistant pastor, Smart Mwakalam, who received 160 years in prison. The convicts were given 14 days to appeal. Prosecutors asked Mackenzie to be sentenced to death and his accomplices to life sentences. Attorney Lawrence Obogno said he has already filed an appeal, the AP notes.

McKenzie is also on trial for terrorism and manslaughter in connection with the deaths of more than 200 others. He has been charged with child abuse and torture in two other courts.

In 2023, more than 400 bodies were exhumed from shallow graves at the Chakama ranch of about 320 hectares in coastal Kilifi county, according to the AP. Mackenzie's followers lived there in mud huts away from local communities and authorities' attention. More than 60 victims have been identified and reburied by their relatives, and many more remains remain unidentified and unclaimed.

On October 19, the court found all 29 defendants guilty of killing 191 people. The investigation also found that Mackenzie prohibited children from attending school and seeking medical help. According to investigators, the mass death from hunger was planned in three stages: first children, then women and young men, after them - the rest of the men.