⬆️Pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie.
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has reacted to the Wednesday Kenyan court sentence of Pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie to 200 years in prison for the deaths of 191 of his followers in Shakahola Forest. MURIC rejected the widespread description of the case as a cult tragedy, insisting instead that it was an act of Christian terrorism.
In a statement issued on Thursday, 12 November 2026, MURIC Executive Director Professor Ishaq Akintola said Mackenzie was the founder and pastor of the Good News International Church (also known as Good News International Ministries). All the victims were members of his church. The organisation accused mainstream media of applying a double standard: rushing to label Muslim offenders as terrorists, fanatics or extremists while describing Christian perpetrators as mere cult leaders.
“Although mainstream Christo-Western media called it a cult incident, we are inclined towards calling it exactly what it is: a Christian act of terrorism pure and simple,” Akintola stated. He noted that the church was founded on 17 August 2003 by Mackenzie and his first wife, Agnes Mongeli (also referred to as Mary Mwongeli), who died in childbirth in 2009. Mackenzie later remarried; his second wife died in 2017, and he is currently married to Rhoda Mumbua Maweu.
MURIC argued that outlets such as CNN, BBC and France 24, along with some Nigerian media houses, have shown selective judgement. “How can we keep calling a church pastor a cult leader?” the statement asked. “Why does this axis of the press rush to call Muslims involved in similar criminal acts terrorists… but change the narrative when a church pastor is involved?”
The group rejected what it called the “asymmetric stereotyping” of Muslims as the primary source of fanaticism and terrorism. “Had Mackenzie been a Muhammad or an Ibrahim, the narrative would have been different,” Akintola said. “There are terrorists and fanatics everywhere.”
MURIC pointed to earlier cases it regards as comparable. It cited the 1978 Jonestown massacre led by Reverend Jim Jones, in which more than 900 people died, and the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks carried out by Australian white supremacist Brenton Tarrant, which killed 51 Muslim worshippers.
Neither, MURIC noted, was widely labelled “Christian terrorism” by major media. The organisation also referred to past incidents in Nigeria involving Christian militia and a Christian suicide bomber.
“Mackenzie is a Christian terrorist, not a cult leader,” the statement concluded. “When a Christian commits a terrorist act, it is trivialised… But when it involves a Muslim, it is hyped, sensationalised and hyperbolised. We must give all a level playing field. The world must learn to call a spade a spade.”