Kenyan cult leader sentenced to 200 years in prison

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Kenyan cult leader Paul Mackenzie was sentenced to 200 years in prison for the deaths of 190 children who were starved or otherwise killed under his orders in Shakahola Forest. Twenty-eight accomplices were also jailed, and the case has intensified scrutiny of authorities' failure to respond to warning signs; the wider investigation has found 448 bodies, with about 500 victims suspected.

Kenyan cult leader Paul Mackenzie has been sentenced to 200 years in prison for the deaths of 190 children who were starved to death on his orders in Shakahola Forest. Prosecutors said he had convinced followers to fast to reach heaven before the apocalypse, with some victims beaten, buried alive or dumped in latrines. Twenty-eight accomplices have also been jailed. The case has raised serious questions about the authorities' failure to act on repeated warning signs dating back to 2017, with the death toll from the wider investigation reaching 448 confirmed bodies and around 500 suspected victims.