Paul Mackenzie sentence: 200 years for 191 murders, with an appeal already under way

The Paul Mackenzie sentence handed down in Mombasa on Friday, 200 years in prison, closes one chapter of Kenya’s Shakahola forest case. It does not end the legal fight. Mackenzie, who leads the Good News International Church, was convicted last month of murdering 190 children and one adult. His defence lawyer says an appeal has already been launched.

How the 200 years were calculated

According to the BBC, the High Court imposed 100 years for homicide and a further 100 years for offences related to starvation. Sentences within each category run concurrently, but the two sets run consecutively, giving the 200-year total. Prosecutors had asked for the death penalty. Justice Diana Kavedza-Mochache accepted that the case met the threshold for considering it, but declined to impose it, saying capital punishment would remove any prospect of rehabilitation. Kenya has not carried out an execution since 1987, and the sources note that those sentenced to death there serve life terms.

The judge said Mackenzie bore “primary criminal culpability” for relocating followers to a remote location and ordering them to fast to death. She described the killings as “cold and calculated” and said the sentence was meant to “send an unmistakable message” that such atrocities warrant the maximum penalties allowed by law.

What the court found

The court found that 183 victims died of starvation, while eight others were classified as murder by direct homicide. In her judgment on 19 October, the judge said followers regarded Mackenzie as “Jesus’s mouthpiece.” The BBC reports she found the deaths arose from an organised system of religious teachings and directives that compelled followers to take part in the fast. Burials were called “weddings,” and the dead were celebrated as having wedded with Jesus.

Post-mortem results cited in the reporting showed starvation as the cause of death for most victims. Others died from suffocation, strangulation or head injuries. The judge also said some children were isolated and denied food while their parents watched.

Mackenzie was tried alongside 28 others, including guards who enforced the fasting orders and gravediggers who helped conceal the bodies. All 29 were found guilty. Sentences for the co-accused went up to 160 years, and his assistant pastor, Smart Mwakalama, received that term. According to the Associated Press, all but one of the group had denied the charges, and that person confessed and pleaded for leniency. The defendants had asked the court for leniency before sentencing.

Appeal and remaining charges

Everyone convicted has been given 14 days to appeal. Defence lawyer Lawrence Obonyo, who represents Mackenzie and several others, told the AP he had already started the process. He argued the ruling was “circling around the constitution to give a sentence that is unattainable,” since terms of 160 to 200 years amount to life sentences.

The Paul Mackenzie sentence also covers only part of the picture. Reports say he faces further charges, which he denies. They include terrorism and manslaughter charges relating to more than 200 other victims, plus child abuse and torture charges in two other courts. Prosecutors allege he directed the deaths of 52 people in Kwa Binzaro village while in detention, and he has pleaded not guilty in that case.

Families react

Reactions from relatives were mixed. Suleiman Ziro, who lost six children and his wife, told the AP the sentence was not enough and called for the death penalty, partly because he has not recovered his loved ones’ bodies. Francis Wanje, who lost eight relatives, told the BBC before the hearing that he hoped for a sentence “which will match his deeds in the forest.” Another bereaved father, Stephen Mwiti, said he feared Mackenzie’s message could still spread from behind bars.

The sources differ on how many victims have been identified. The Guardian says only 26 of the more than 400 bodies recovered could be named, while the AP reports more than 60 were identified and reburied by relatives. Both agree that many remain unidentified or unclaimed.

The case has also raised questions about oversight. The BBC reports that investigations by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights found local officials and law enforcement had repeatedly turned a blind eye to the group’s activities. The Guardian notes calls for tougher regulation of religious organisations. The Paul Mackenzie sentence settles one trial, but the appeals and the outstanding charges mean the Shakahola cases will continue in court.

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