{
  "id": 18965904,
  "title": "Kenyan cult leader sentenced to 200 years in prison over the deaths of 190 children",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/08/kenyan-cult-leader-sentenced-to-200-years-in-prison-over-the-deaths",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-08T13:56:36.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Egypt Independent",
    "slug": "egypt-independent",
    "url": "https://www.egyptindependent.com/kenyan-cult-leader-sentenced-to-200-years-in-prison-over-the-deaths-of-190-children/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A Kenyan cult leader, Paul Mackenzie, has been sentenced to 200 years in prison for the deaths of 191 people, all but one of them children, according to prosecutors. Mackenzie founded the Good News International Church and preached a doomsday message in August 2023. He convinced followers to fast in the Shakahola Forest, leading to the deaths of 161 children under the age of 13 and eight others who suffocated, strangled or were beaten to death. Lady Justice Diana Kavedza, the judge, did not impose the death penalty as it could strengthen the belief of the convicted that dying would reunite them with Jesus, rather than deter them.",
  "summary": "A Kenyan cult leader has been sentenced to 200 years in prison for the murder of 191 people, all but one of them children, in a campaign of abuse and forced fasting. Paul Mackenzie, founder of the Good News International Church, was sentenced Friday alongside more than two dozen others at the Mombasa High Court. … The post Kenyan cult leader sentenced to 200 years in prison over the deaths of 190…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Rio Times",
        "title": "Haiti Says Gang Boss Mathias Saintil Is Dead",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/07/haiti-says-gang-boss-mathias-saintil-is-dead",
        "published": "2026-11-07T08:43:15.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "People Daily Kenya",
        "title": "Who was Mathias Saintil? Haiti gang leader killed in area Kenyan police once patrolled",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/07/who-was-mathias-saintil-haiti-gang-leader-killed-in-area-kenyan",
        "published": "2026-11-07T10:24:42.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Adom Online",
        "title": "Kenyan cult leader sentenced to 200 years in prison over the deaths of 190 children",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/07/kenyan-cult-leader-sentenced-to-200-years-in-prison-over-the-deaths",
        "published": "2026-11-07T13:07:06.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}