A Kenyan court has sentenced Pastor Paul Mackenzie, leader of the Good News International Church, to 200 years in prison over the deaths of 191 people, including 190 children.

The High Court in Mombasa delivered the sentence on Friday, November 6, after finding Mackenzie guilty of directing his followers to starve themselves to death in the belief that doing so would enable them to meet Jesus.

The court held that Mackenzie bore primary responsibility for relocating his followers to a remote settlement and enforcing the deadly fasting instructions.

Investigations into the incident revealed that more than 400 bodies were exhumed from shallow graves at Chakama Ranch in coastal Kilifi County in 2023.

The court also sentenced Mackenzie's assistant pastor, Smart Mwakalama, to 160 years in prison.

Twenty-nine individuals were convicted in connection with the murders, while Mackenzie faces additional terrorism, manslaughter, child abuse and torture charges relating to other victims.

The defence has indicated its intention to appeal the judgment.

Source: Associated Press via Washington Post, November 7, 2026.