The leader of a Kenyan starvation cult found guilty of murdering 190 children faces a possible death penalty as he is sentenced on Friday.
The case has fuelled calls for tighter regulation of religious organisations, after it emerged that Mackenzie had previously been arrested twice but released. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions this week urged the court to sentence Mackenzie to death, citing the scale of the loss of life and the danger posed by his actions. Some victims remain unidentified.
Last month, he was convicted of murdering 190 children and one adult between January 2021 and September 2023, alongside 28 co-accused. the country has not carried out an execution since 1987 Although Kenya’s law provides for the death penalty. Mackenzie, a former taxi driver, was arrested in April 2023 after a rights group alerted authorities and some followers were rescued from the 325-hectare ranch in the Shakahola forest on Kenya’s coast. The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights put the death toll at 429 in 2024.
Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Mackenzie was accused of inciting his followers to starve themselves to death to “meet Jesus”. His lawyer said he would appeal.
