{"id":36133,"date":"2026-11-06T19:13:50","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T17:13:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/?p=36133"},"modified":"2026-11-06T19:13:50","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T17:13:50","slug":"keniya-pastor-makkenzi-200-rokiv-sekta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/world\/keniya-pastor-makkenzi-200-rokiv-sekta\/","title":{"rendered":"200 years in prison for 191 murders: cult leader sentenced in Kenya"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In Kenya, a court has sentenced Pastor Paul Mackenzie, founder of the religious organisation Good News International Church, to 200 years\u2019 imprisonment. He was found guilty of the murder of 191 people, including 190 children. Followers of the sect were forced to starve themselves to death, under the pretence that this would ensure their entry into paradise. The sentence was handed down on 6 November by the High Court in Mombasa.<\/p>\n<div class=\"news-summary-box\"><strong>Briefly about the main points<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Kenyan pastor Paul Mackenzie has been sentenced to 200 years\u2019 imprisonment.<\/li>\n<li>The court found him guilty of murdering 190 children and one adult.<\/li>\n<li>The cult\u2019s followers were forced to go on a hunger strike, with the promise that they would go to heaven.<\/li>\n<li>Law enforcement officers discovered more than 400 bodies in the Shakahola Forest.<\/li>\n<li>The defence is appealing the verdict, whilst other criminal proceedings against the pastor are ongoing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2>The court established the circumstances surrounding the deaths of 191 people<\/h2>\n<p>Judge <strong>Diana Kavedza<\/strong> acknowledged <strong>Mackenzie<\/strong> the person primarily responsible for organising the fatal hunger strike. According to the case file, the pastor persuaded his followers to leave their homes and move to the remote area of Chakama in Kilifi County, where they were to refuse food in the hope of achieving the promised spiritual salvation.<\/p>\n<p>The investigation established that <strong>183 people died of exhaustion and starvation<\/strong>, and eight more were killed. The court sentenced Mackenzie to two consecutive 100-year prison terms for various categories of murder.<\/p>\n<p>Along with the pastor, a further 28 of his accomplices were found guilty. Among them were security guards who ensured the hunger strike was observed, and people involved in concealing the bodies of those who had died. The pastor\u2019s assistant, Smart Mwakalama, was sentenced to 160 years\u2019 imprisonment.<\/p>\n<h2>Over 400 bodies have been found in the Shakahola Forest<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_36135\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-36135\" style=\"width: 696px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-36135\" src=\"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Screenshot_44-1024x606.jpg\" alt=\"Police officers and forensic experts are working at the site of mass graves in the Shakahola Forest in Kenya\" width=\"696\" height=\"412\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Screenshot_44-1024x606.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Screenshot_44-300x178.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Screenshot_44-768x455.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Screenshot_44-1536x909.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Screenshot_44-18x12.jpg 18w, https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Screenshot_44-710x420.jpg 710w, https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Screenshot_44-696x412.jpg 696w, https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Screenshot_44-1068x632.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Screenshot_44.jpg 1659w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-36135\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">During an investigation into the activities of Paul Mackenzie\u2019s cult, more than 400 bodies were discovered in the Shakahola Forest. Most of the victims had died of starvation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Mass graves were discovered in 2023 on the Chakama Ranch near the Shakahola Forest. Across an area of approximately 320 hectares, Mackenzie\u2019s followers lived in remote settlements, virtually cut off from local communities and government institutions.<\/p>\n<p>During the excavations <strong>law enforcement officers found more than 400 bodies<\/strong>. A significant proportion of the deceased have still not been identified due to the condition of the remains. More than 60 victims have been identified following forensic examinations and handed over to their relatives for burial.<\/p>\n<p>The trial in the case of the 191 murders concluded with a guilty verdict on 19 October. The prosecution had sought the death penalty for Mackenzie, but the court imposed a lengthy prison sentence. Kenya formally retains the death penalty in its legislation, but has not carried out any such sentences since 1987.<\/p>\n<h2>The defence is appealing the verdict; the pastor is on trial on other charges<\/h2>\n<p>The defendants\u2019 lawyers are appealing against the court\u2019s decision, arguing that the sentences handed down effectively amount to life imprisonment. During the trial, Mackenzie denied that he had forced his supporters to go on hunger strike.<\/p>\n<p>Separate proceedings are ongoing against the pastor on charges of terrorism, child abuse and torture. These relate to other incidents involving the sect and are not covered by the sentence handed down on 6 November.<\/p>\n<p>The relatives of the victims also expressed their dissatisfaction with the court\u2019s decision. One of the parents, who had lost his wife and six children, said he considered the sentence handed down to be insufficient.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u0423 \u041a\u0435\u043d\u0456\u0457 \u0441\u0443\u0434 \u0437\u0430\u0441\u0443\u0434\u0438\u0432 \u0434\u043e 200 \u0440\u043e\u043a\u0456\u0432 \u0443\u0432\u2019\u044f\u0437\u043d\u0435\u043d\u043d\u044f \u043f\u0430\u0441\u0442\u043e\u0440\u0430 \u041f\u043e\u043b\u0430 \u041c\u0430\u043a\u043a\u0435\u043d\u0437\u0456, \u0437\u0430\u0441\u043d\u043e\u0432\u043d\u0438\u043a\u0430 \u0440\u0435\u043b\u0456\u0433\u0456\u0439\u043d\u043e\u0457 \u043e\u0440\u0433\u0430\u043d\u0456\u0437\u0430\u0446\u0456\u0457 Good News International Church. \u0419\u043e\u0433\u043e \u0432\u0438\u0437\u043d\u0430\u043b\u0438 \u0432\u0438\u043d\u043d\u0438\u043c \u0443 \u0432\u0431\u0438\u0432\u0441\u0442\u0432\u0456 191 \u043b\u044e\u0434\u0438\u043d\u0438, \u0441\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0434 \u044f\u043a\u0438\u0445 190 \u0434\u0456\u0442\u0435\u0439. \u041f\u043e\u0441\u043b\u0456\u0434\u043e\u0432\u043d\u0438\u043a\u0456\u0432 \u0441\u0435\u043a\u0442\u0438 \u0437\u043c\u0443\u0448\u0443\u0432\u0430\u043b\u0438 \u0433\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0434\u0443\u0432\u0430\u0442\u0438 \u0434\u043e \u0441\u043c\u0435\u0440\u0442\u0456, \u043f\u0435\u0440\u0435\u043a\u043e\u043d\u0443\u044e\u0447\u0438, \u0449\u043e \u0442\u0430\u043a \u0432\u043e\u043d\u0438 \u043f\u043e\u0442\u0440\u0430\u043f\u043b\u044f\u0442\u044c \u0434\u043e \u0440\u0430\u044e. \u0412\u0438\u0440\u043e\u043a 6 \u043b\u0438\u0441\u0442\u043e\u043f\u0430\u0434\u0430 \u043e\u0433\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0441\u0438\u0432 \u0412\u0438\u0441\u043e\u043a\u0438\u0439 \u0441\u0443\u0434 \u043c\u0456\u0441\u0442\u0430 \u041c\u043e\u043c\u0431\u0430\u0441\u0430. \u041a\u043e\u0440\u043e\u0442\u043a\u043e \u043f\u0440\u043e \u0433\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0432\u043d\u0435 \u041a\u0435\u043d\u0456\u0439\u0441\u044c\u043a\u043e\u0433\u043e \u043f\u0430\u0441\u0442\u043e\u0440\u0430 [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":207433346,"featured_media":36134,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_description":"\u0423 \u041a\u0435\u043d\u0456\u0457 \u043f\u0430\u0441\u0442\u043e\u0440\u0430 \u041f\u043e\u043b\u0430 \u041c\u0430\u043a\u043a\u0435\u043d\u0437\u0456 \u0437\u0430\u0441\u0443\u0434\u0438\u043b\u0438 \u0434\u043e 200 \u0440\u043e\u043a\u0456\u0432 \u0443\u0432'\u044f\u0437\u043d\u0435\u043d\u043d\u044f \u0437\u0430 \u0432\u0431\u0438\u0432\u0441\u0442\u0432\u043e 191 \u043b\u044e\u0434\u0438\u043d\u0438, \u0437\u043e\u043a\u0440\u0435\u043c\u0430 190 \u0434\u0456\u0442\u0435\u0439. \u0429\u043e \u0432\u0441\u0442\u0430\u043d\u043e\u0432\u0438\u043b\u043e \u0441\u043b\u0456\u0434\u0441\u0442\u0432\u043e.","rank_math_title":"\u0423 \u041a\u0435\u043d\u0456\u0457 \u043b\u0456\u0434\u0435\u0440\u0430 \u0441\u0435\u043a\u0442\u0438 \u0437\u0430\u0441\u0443\u0434\u0438\u043b\u0438 \u0434\u043e 200 \u0440\u043e\u043a\u0456\u0432 \u0437\u0430 \u0432\u0431\u0438\u0432\u0441\u0442\u0432\u0430","rank_math_focus_keyword":"\u0423 \u041a\u0435\u043d\u0456\u0457","td_subtitle":"","subtitle":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[805619],"tags":[805624],"class_list":["post-36133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world","tag-805624"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/207433346"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36133"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36133\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36136,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36133\/revisions\/36136"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}