Kenyan preacher sentenced to 200 years in prison over murders of 191 people

Self-proclaimed preacher Paul Mackenzie was sentenced Friday to 200 years in prison for the murder of 191 people, including 190 children, in the Shakahola Forest cult near Malindi. The court imposed 100 years for homicide and 100 years for charges related to the starvation of followers, whom he allegedly urged to fast to “meet Jesus”; his 28 co-accused also received lengthy sentences. The judge described the suffering endured by children, while Francis Wanje, who lost two grandchildren, blamed authorities for failing to act sooner. Mackenzie plans to appeal and faces other trials; the case, which Kenya’s human rights commission says killed 429 people, has renewed calls for tighter regulation of religious organisations.