Kenyan cult leader sentenced to 200 years in prison

A Kenyan court convicted cult leader Paul Mackenzie on Friday to a 200-year prison sentence for the murders of 190 children he starved to death and buried in a forest, along with 500 other suspected victims of one of the deadliest cult-related mass killings in modern times. The judge, Justice Diana Kavedza, handed Mackenzie 100 years for murder by starvation and another 100 years for direct homicide.

Prosecutors alleged that Mackenzie, who led an apocalyptic Christian church in a forest near Kenya's Indian Ocean coast, instructed followers to starve themselves, including their children, in order to reach heaven before the end of the world. His accomplices reportedly threatened and beat victims to ensure compliance. The bodies of the victims were found in shallow graves and latrines, some having been buried alive.

Mackenzie, clad in a grey polo shirt and black trousers, remained silent as the judge read out his sentence from a tent set up outside the court. He denied murder charges, claiming he did not force the victims to starve. However, the court rejected his defense. Twenty-eight accomplices received sentences ranging from 10 to 160 years. All were found guilty at a trial held the previous month.

Mackenzie's defense lawyer, Lawrence Obonyo, stated that he would appeal the ruling. The judge described Mackenzie's charismatic media presence as a means to gain the trust of his victims, particularly children, before targeting them. She recounted how children witnessed their siblings dying from hunger, and those who stole food or water were beaten and locked in houses, forced to endure fasting until death.