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Kenya: Shakahola massacre court proceedings

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This dossier follows proceedings against Paul Mackenzie and his co-defendants in the Shakahola case. It distinguishes verdicts, sentences and appeals, as well as the different groups of victims covered by prosecutions.

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Mombasa, April 2016. File photograph; depicts neither the hearing nor victims. Leo Hempstone, CC BY-SA 4.0, unmodified.
Mombasa, April 2016. File photograph; depicts neither the hearing nor victims. Leo Hempstone, CC BY-SA 4.0, unmodified. — Leo Hempstone / Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ ; 30 avril 2016 ; sans modification.

Where things stand

On 6 November 2026, Mombasa’s High Court sentenced Mackenzie to 200 years for 191 murders. The defence announced an appeal; other proceedings remain ongoing.

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Confirmed

Shakahola: Paul Mackenzie sentenced to 200 years in Kenya

Mombasa’s High Court sentenced Paul Mackenzie to 200 years in prison on 6 November 2026 for murdering 190 children and one adult in the Shakahola case. The Good News International Church leader had been convicted in October.

Mombasa, April 2016. File photograph; depicts neither the hearing nor victims. Leo Hempstone, CC BY-SA 4.0, unmodified.
Mombasa, April 2016. File photograph; depicts neither the hearing nor victims. Leo Hempstone, CC BY-SA 4.0, unmodified. — Leo Hempstone / Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ ; 30 avril 2016 ; sans modification.

The punishment comprises two consecutive hundred-year terms, according to TV5MONDE and AFP. Justice Diana Kavedza held him responsible for moving followers to a remote location and instructing them to fast to death, Associated Press reports.

This sentence concerns 191 victims. It does not conclude all prosecutions linked to the hundreds of bodies discovered in 2023: AP reports further proceedings involving terrorism, manslaughter and child abuse charges.

Lawrence Obonyo, who represents Mackenzie and several co-defendants, told AP he had already launched an appeal. The report says those convicted have fourteen days to appeal. The sentence handed down must therefore be distinguished from the future outcome of those challenges.

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