A Kenyan court on Friday sentenced Paul Mackenzie, the founder of the Good News International Church, to 200 years in prison for murdering 191 people.
Mr Mackenzie and 27 others were found guilty of manipulating members of his church to starve their children to death for them to “meet Jesus.”
At Mombasa High Court, Justice Diana Mochache found Mr Mackenzie “primary criminal culpability” for instructing his followers to fast to death.
“The sentence is appropriate and just, to send an unmistakable message that such atrocities warrant the maximum penalties allowed by law,” Justice Mochache ruled.
This comes a few weeks after Mr Mackenzie and his allies were found guilty of manipulating hundreds of church members into starving to death.
In 2023, Mr Mackenzie, a charismatic pastor, was arrested after over 400 bodies of his church members were found in a shallow grave in Shakahola forest in Kenya.
Investigations revealed they had died from starvation while fasting based on the instruction of their leader to meet Jesus.
Mr Mackenzie had pleaded not guilty, arguing he neither forced nor compelled any of his members to fast to death.
State prosecutors had sought the death penalty for Mr Mackenzie and his accomplices. However, Friday’s judgement draws the curtains on the deaths of hundreds as a result of religious manipulation.
