Controversial preacher Paul Nthenge Mackenzie has been sentenced to a total of 200 years in prison over the Shakahola massacre, in which 191 people, including 190 children, lost their lives.
Lady Justice Diana Kavedza Mochache delivered the sentence at the High Court in Mombasa on Friday, November 6, 2026, following Mackenzie's conviction on 191 counts of murder.
The court imposed a 100-year prison term for the 183 murder counts involving victims who died through starvation. The sentence is to run concurrently across those counts.
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Mackenzie was also handed a separate 100-year term for the eight counts involving victims who died through direct homicide. Those sentences will also run concurrently.
However, the two sets of sentences will run consecutively, bringing Mackenzie's aggregate prison term to 200 years.
In her sentencing decision, Justice Kavedza said the punishment was intended to achieve retribution, denunciation and deterrence, taking into account the scale of the crimes and the suffering inflicted on victims and their families.
"The objectives of sentencing, particularly retribution, denunciation, and deterrence, require that punishment be experienced as a tangible loss by the offender," the judge stated.
The court also considered the prosecution's request for the death penalty, with the judge observing that capital punishment was discretionary and reserved for exceptional circumstances.
However, Justice Kavedza explained that keeping Mackenzie alive could preserve the possibility of obtaining information about the whereabouts of missing children and help families still searching for answers.
She noted that imposing the death penalty would eliminate the possibility of obtaining further disclosures from the convicted preacher about the remains of victims who have not been accounted for.
The sentencing followed a judgment delivered on October 19, 2026, when the High Court found Mackenzie and 28 co-accused guilty of all 191 counts after the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
In the earlier judgment, Justice Kavedza established that Mackenzie, who led Good News International Ministries, directed his followers to starve themselves to death in the belief that they would meet Jesus.
The court found that children were targeted first before the deadly fasting practice spread to young people, women and men.
It further established that the fasting was not voluntary but was enforced through an organised system of religious indoctrination, intimidation and violence.
The Shakahola tragedy came to national and international attention in 2023 after investigators uncovered mass graves in Shakahola Forest, Kilifi County.
The case remains one of the most devastating incidents involving religious extremism and loss of life in Kenya's recent history.