Shakahola massacre: Mackenzie jailed for 200 years

Cult leader Paul Nthenge Mackenzie has been sentenced to a total of 200 years in prison for the murder of 190 children and one adult at Shakahola Forest between January 2021 and September 2023.

The High Court in Mombasa imposed two separate 100-year terms on Mackenzie, distinguishing between victims who died of starvation and those who were killed directly through suffocation, strangulation or blunt force trauma.

In the first category, Mackenzie was sentenced to 100 years' imprisonment for each of 183 counts of murder by starvation, involving 182 children and one adult.

In the second category, he was sentenced to 100 years' imprisonment for each of eight counts of murder by direct homicide, all involving children.

The court directed that the two sets of sentences run consecutively, resulting in an aggregate sentence of 200 years.

The decision to impose consecutive sentences, the court said, reflected the distinct categories of murder and the need to ensure that the punishment adequately reflected the gravity of the offences.