Kenyan court sentences starvation cult leader to 200 years

What the report says

A Kenyan court has sentenced cult leader Paul Mackenzie to 200 years in prison over the deaths of 190 children and one adult, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters. Justice Diana Kavedza delivered the ruling in Mombasa on Friday, assigning 100 years for murder by starvation and another 100 years for direct homicide. The court said the victims were starved to death on Mackenzie’s orders and buried in a forest.

The report says 28 accomplices who had been convicted with Mackenzie last month also received prison terms. Mackenzie, who led the Good News International Church, was accused of running a doomsday sect that told followers to starve themselves and their children so they could reach heaven before the world ended. The article says his associates threatened and beat victims to carry out those instructions.

Police arrested Mackenzie in 2023 after a tip-off, and investigators later uncovered bodies in the Shakahola Forest near Kenya’s coast. The article describes emaciated bodies found in shallow graves and latrines, with some victims reportedly buried alive. Kenyan authorities have said more than 400 people died in the wider Shakahola tragedy, which prompted national scrutiny of religious extremism and criticism of the state’s failure to stop the group sooner.

The case has also renewed calls in Kenya for tighter oversight of religious organizations. The article notes that Mackenzie had previously been arrested and released before the mass deaths were uncovered.