Kenyan cult leader sentenced to 200 years in prison for murder of 190 children
MOMBASA, Kenya, Nov 6 (Reuters) - A Kenyan court sentenced cult leader Paul Mackenzie on Friday to 200 years in prison for the murders of 190 children starved to death on his orders and buried in a forest, among 500 suspected victims of one of the worst ceremonial massacres of modern times.
The sentence was comprised of 100 years for murder by starvation and 100 years by direct homicide, Justice Diana Kavedza said, reading out the judgment.
Prosecutors said Mackenzie, who led an apocalyptic Christian church in a forest near eastern Kenya's Indian Ocean coast, had told his followers to starve themselves to death, along with their children, to reach heaven before the end of the world.
His accomplices threatened and beat victims to ensure they followed his orders. The emaciated bodies were found scattered in shallow graves and dumped in latrines. Some had been buried alive.
Mackenzie, wearing a grey polo shirt and black trousers, smiled as he entered a tent set up outside the court where the hearing was held.
He had denied murder charges, saying he did not force the victims to starve. The court rejected his defence.
The case shocked Kenya in April 2023 when police began uncovering bodies in Shakahola Forest near the coastal town of Malindi.
Although only the cases of 190 children and one adult victim were covered by the trial, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights says 448 bodies were ultimately found in the forest.
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