A court in Mombasa, Kenya, sentenced preacher Paul Nthenge Mackenzie to 200 years in prison Friday, Nov. 6, for the Shakahola murders of 191 people, including 190 children, Reuters and Daily Nation reported.
Reuters reported that the court imposed 100 years for murder by starvation and another 100 years for direct homicide. Daily Nation said the case included 183 starvation counts, involving 182 children and one adult, and eight direct-homicide counts, all involving children. Sentences ran concurrently within each category, while the two terms ran consecutively.
Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said the High Court convicted Mackenzie and 28 co-defendants on Oct. 19. EconoTimes previously covered Mackenzie’s scheduled sentencing after the verdict.
High Court Judge Diana Kavedza said Mackenzie bore “primary criminal culpability” for moving followers to a remote location and ordering them to fast, the Associated Press reported. AP also reported that he faces separate terrorism and manslaughter charges concerning more than 200 other victims, as well as child abuse and torture charges in two other courts.
The Associated Press reported that the convicted defendants have 14 days to appeal.
