Kenyan Preacher Jailed 200 Years for Starving 190 Children to Death

• Kenyan preacher Paul Mackenzie was sentenced to 200 years in prison for the Shakahola massacre, which left 190 children and one adult dead in the case before the court.

A Kenyan court on Friday sentenced preacher Paul Mackenzie to 200 years in prison for the murders of 190 children and one adult linked to his religious group in Shakahola Forest, Kilifi County.

Justice Diana Kavedza Mochache of the High Court in Mombasa said Mackenzie bore the “primary criminal culpability” for directing his followers to fast to death. The court found that he ordered followers to move to Shakahola and fast in the belief that they would meet Jesus. The fasting began with children.

The court found that 183 of the 191 victims died of starvation and classified the other eight deaths as direct homicide. Mackenzie received 100 years for murder by starvation and another 100 years for direct homicide. The two terms will run consecutively. His 28 co-defendants received prison terms ranging from 10 to 160 years.

The case came to light in 2023 when authorities discovered bodies in shallow graves in Shakahola Forest. Investigators have since exhumed more than 400 bodies as part of the wider investigation. Mackenzie also faces separate manslaughter and terrorism charges, which he has denied.