MOMBASA, KENYA — A Kenyan court on Friday sentenced doomsday cult leader Paul Mackenzie to 200 years in prison over the Shakahola starvation massacre, one of the deadliest cult killings in modern history, according to Capital FM.

High Court Justice Diana Kavedza-Mochache handed down 100 years for deaths caused by starvation and another 100 years for victims who died through direct violence, running the terms consecutively. Mackenzie and 28 co-defendants were convicted last month of murdering 191 people — 190 of them children — after the self-styled preacher ordered followers at his Shakahola forest commune to starve themselves and their children so they could "meet Jesus," per International Business Times UK.

Death penalty request denied

Prosecutors had pushed for Mackenzie to be executed, arguing the scale of the killings warranted Kenya's harshest possible punishment. The judge declined, reasoning that keeping him alive preserves the chance of recovering information about children still unaccounted for. More than 400 bodies have been exhumed from the Shakahola forest since the case first came to light in 2023, though Friday's sentence covers only the 191 deaths proven in the murder trial.

WE HAVE SO MUCH CONFIDENCE THAT THE VERDICT WILL BE OVERTURNED

Mackenzie's lawyers, who had argued for a rehabilitation-focused sentence citing time already served, said they intend to appeal. His 28 co-defendants received terms ranging from 10 to 160 years, Capital FM reported.

More trials to come

Friday's ruling closes only one chapter of Mackenzie's legal saga. He still faces separate manslaughter and terrorism-related trials tied to the broader Shakahola investigation, meaning Kenyan prosecutors are not yet finished with the case that shocked the country and drew global attention to unregulated religious movements operating with little government oversight.