Kenya Pastor Sentenced to 200 Years for Cult Mass Starvings

Paul Mackenzie, the pastor who led a Kenyan church group that ordered its members to starve themselves to death, was sentenced to 200 years in prison on Friday in Mombasa. The High Court ruling addresses the murders of 191 individuals, a number that includes 190 children and one adult.

The conviction marks the final stage of a legal process that began after more than 400 bodies were exhumed from Chakama Ranch in 2023. The 800-acre property in coastal Kilifi County served as a secluded base for Mackenzie’s followers, who lived in mud huts away from local oversight. Investigators found the victims buried in shallow graves on the property.

Justice Diana Kavedza assigned Mackenzie primary criminal culpability for moving the group to the remote site and enforcing the fast. She described the killings as cold and calculated, rejecting arguments from some accused members that the loss of their own children absolved them of guilt in the deaths of others. The court determined that 183 victims died from a complete lack of food, while eight died from direct homicide.

Mackenzie was tried alongside 28 other followers, including guards who enforced the fasting rules and gravediggers who assisted with burials. All defendants were found guilty on October 19. One defendant confessed and asked for leniency, while the others denied the charges. Smart Mwakalama, Mackenzie’s assistant pastor, received a sentence of 160 years.

Mackenzie still faces additional charges in two other courts, including terrorism, manslaughter, child abuse, and torture. The prosecution had sought the death penalty for Mackenzie and life imprisonment for his co-defendants. Kenyan courts currently sentence those ordered to death to life imprisonment, a practice in place since the last execution in 1987.

Lawrence Obonyo, the defense attorney for Mackenzie and several other convicted members, stated that an appeal has already been filed. He argued that sentences of 160 to 200 years are effectively life terms and that the ruling bends the constitution. All convicted individuals have 14 days to formally lodge their appeals.

Suleiman Ziro, a father of seven who traveled 120 kilometers to the hearing, lost his wife and six children to the cult in 2023. He argued that the sentence was insufficient because he has not yet recovered the bodies of his family members. Ziro called for the death penalty in the case.

Dan Mackenzie, the pastor’s son, said he felt sorry for his father but viewed the outcome as justice for the victims. He escaped the group by rebelling against his father’s teachings, a move that often resulted in punishment. Two of Dan’s younger brothers and three sisters were rescued and are currently placed in a children’s home. More than 60 bodies have been identified and reburied by relatives, while many others remain unclaimed.