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Kenyan Cult Leader Sentenced to 200 Years for Murders
Confirmed
In Short: A Kenyan court sentenced Paul Mackenzie, leader of a doomsday cult, to 200 years in prison for the murders of 191 people, all but one a child.
A Kenyan court sentenced Paul Mackenzie, leader of a doomsday cult, to 200 years in prison for the murders of 191 people, all but one a child, on Friday. Justice Diana Kavedza read out the judgement, imposing 100 years for murder by starvation and another 100 years for direct homicide.
Mackenzie, who was arrested in 2023 after police received a tip-off, was found guilty alongside 28 others on October 19. The court convicted them of murdering 191 people, including 190 children, who were starved to death on Mackenzie's orders and buried in a forest near Malindi.
The scale of the killings is comparable to that of the Ugandan doomsday cult that killed over 700 people in 2000 and the 1978 Jonestown massacre in Guyana, where over 900 people died after being ordered to drink poison.
The court found Mackenzie and his accomplices guilty of murder after prosecutors urged the court to impose the death penalty, citing the scale of the killings. Mackenzie had denied the charges, saying he did not force the victims to starve, but the court rejected his defense.
The High Court in Mombasa sentenced Mackenzie to 200 years in prison, with 100 years for 183 murders by starvation and another 100 years for eight cases of direct homicide. The other 28 accomplices received sentences ranging from 10 to 160 years.
The court's decision comes as a significant step in addressing one of the deadliest cult-related mass killings in modern times, with over 400 suspected victims.
All those convicted have been granted 14 days to file an appeal.
What's confirmed
- A Kenyan court has sentenced starvation cult leader Paul Mackenzie to 200 years in prison for the murder of 190 children and one adult.
- On Oct. 19, the court found all 29 of the accused guilty of the murder of 191 people.
What's still developing
- Nothing material beyond the confirmed record.