{
  "id": 18502175,
  "title": "Leader of Kenyan doomsday cult sentenced to 200 years in prison",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/06/leader-of-kenyan-doomsday-cult-sentenced-to-200-years-in-prison-18502175",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-06T13:12:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times-koreatimes",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/world/20261106/leader-of-kenyan-doomsday-cult-sentenced-to-200-years-in-prison"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Mombasa, Kenya (AP) — The leader of the Kenyan doomsday cult, Pastor Paul Mackenzie, was sentenced to 200 years in prison for the murders of 191 people. The High Court in Mombasa's coastal city handed down the sentence on Friday. According to prosecutors, Mackenzie was convicted of killing 190 children and one adult after ordering his followers to starve themselves to death in hopes of meeting Jesus. Justice Diana Kavedza stated that Mackenzie bore the \"primary criminal culpability\" for moving his followers to a remote location and instructing them to fast to death. The cult leader was charged alongside 28 other members, including guards who enforced the fasting orders and gravediggers who helped conceal the mass graves. All 29 accused pleaded not guilty, with the exception of one individual who confessed and requested leniency. The court found the 29 individuals guilty of the murders on October 19. In 2023, over 400 bodies were found buried in shallow graves on the 800-acre Chakama Ranch, the cult's property in Kenya.",
  "summary": "MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) — The leader of a Kenyan doomsday cult linked to the deaths of more than 400 people was sentenced on Friday to 200 years in prison for the murders of 191 people. The High Court in Kenya’s coastal city of Mombasa issued the sentence for Pastor Paul Mackenzie. He was convicted of murdering 190 children and one adult after he ordered his followers to starve themselves to death in…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 11,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "BBC World",
        "title": "Kenyan doomsday cult leader given life sentence for murdering 191 people",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/06/kenyan-doomsday-cult-leader-given-life-sentence-for-murdering-191",
        "published": "2026-11-06T11:54:08.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Winnipeg Free Press",
        "title": "Leader of Kenyan doomsday cult sentenced to 200 years in prison",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/06/leader-of-kenyan-doomsday-cult-sentenced-to-200-years-in-prison",
        "published": "2026-11-06T12:00:21.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Citizen",
        "title": "Kenyan starvation cult leader sentenced to 200 years for child murders",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/06/kenyan-starvation-cult-leader-sentenced-to-200-years-for-child-murders",
        "published": "2026-11-06T12:36:26.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Jerusalem Post",
        "title": "Kenyan cult leader sentenced to 200 years in prison for murder of 190 children",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/06/kenyan-cult-leader-sentenced-to-200-years-in-prison-for-murder-of-190",
        "published": "2026-11-06T12:46:51.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Al Jazeera",
        "title": "Kenyan court sentences starvation cult leader to 200 years",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/06/kenyan-court-sentences-starvation-cult-leader-to-200-years",
        "published": "2026-11-06T12:50:24.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Hindustan Times - World News",
        "title": "Kenyan starvation cult leader sentenced to 200 years in jail for murdering 190 children, one adult",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/06/kenyan-starvation-cult-leader-sentenced-to-200-years-in-jail-for",
        "published": "2026-11-06T12:55:06.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "South China Morning Post",
        "title": "Kenyan doomsday cult leader jailed for 200 years for murdering 191 followers",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/06/kenyan-doomsday-cult-leader-jailed-for-200-years-for-murdering-191",
        "published": "2026-11-06T12:55:28.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "CBC News",
        "title": "Kenyan cult leader Paul Mackenzie sentenced to 200 years in prison for murder of 190 children",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/06/kenyan-cult-leader-paul-mackenzie-sentenced-to-200-years-in-prison",
        "published": "2026-11-06T13:01:38.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Punch",
        "title": "Kenyan cult leader jailed 200 years for killing 191 people",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/06/kenyan-cult-leader-jailed-200-years-for-killing-191-people",
        "published": "2026-11-06T13:24:51.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "IOL",
        "title": "Kenyan starvation cult leader sentenced to 200 years for child murders",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/06/kenyan-starvation-cult-leader-sentenced-to-200-years-for-child-murders-18511919",
        "published": "2026-11-06T14:15:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}