The sentence was handed down today, Friday 6 November 2026, by Lady Justice Diana Kavedza at the High Court in Mombasa. It follows his conviction on 19 October 2026 alongside 28 co-accused, for the murder of 191 people – 190 children and 1 adult – in the Shakahola massacre.
The judge broke the sentence into two parts. Mackenzie was given 100 years for the murders by starvation, and another 100 years for the murders by direct homicide. Those two sentences will run consecutively, making a total of 200 years. The judge said Mackenzie bore the primary criminal culpability as the overall leader of Good News International Ministries and the Shakahola settlement, after he moved his followers to the remote forest and ordered them to fast to death to meet Jesus.
Prosecutors had asked for the death penalty for Mackenzie, saying the scale of the killings was among the rarest of rare cases. The judge declined to impose it, noting that capital punishment is discretionary in Kenya, and Kenya has not carried out an execution since 1987. His 28 co-accused were also sentenced to long prison terms depending on their roles, including his assistant pastor Smart Mwakalama who got 160 years. Mackenzie’s lawyer said he will appeal.
The case started in April 2023 when police began uncovering bodies in Shakahola Forest in Kilifi County, near Malindi. In total, 429 bodies were recovered, though this trial only covered 191 victims. Mackenzie still faces other cases for manslaughter, terrorism, child abuse and torture in other courts, where he has pleaded not guilty.
