A Kenyan court has sentenced controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie to 200 years in prison for his role in the deaths of 191 people, including 190 children, in a religious cult that subjected followers to forced fasting and abuse.

Mackenzie, founder of the Good  News International Church, was sentenced on Friday by the Mombasa High Court alongside more than two dozen co-accused.

The court imposed a 100-year prison term for each death linked to starvation and another 100 years for deaths resulting from direct homicide.

Investigations established that Mackenzie had persuaded his followers to abandon their homes and relocate to Shakahola Forest in eastern Kenya, where he convinced them that prolonged fasting would bring them closer to God and prepare them for heaven.

The court found that religious teachings were used to enforce the fasting, while guards restricted the movements of followers and prevented them from leaving the forest.

Those who resisted were forced to comply, with children restrained, denied food and punished when they attempted to eat or escape.

A Kenyan Senate report into the deaths found that Mackenzie’s teachings were largely centred on doomsday predictions and beliefs about the end of the world.

He had reportedly told his followers that the world would end in August 2023 and instructed them to fast to “meet Jesus”.

Under the plan, children were expected to die first, followed by young people and women, while the men were expected to remain alive long enough to bury the bodies before dying themselves.

Mackenzie was convicted of murder last month.

In her ruling, Lady Justice Diana Kavedza detailed how the preacher used sermons and written materials to persuade followers that the outside world was evil and that salvation could only be attained in Shakahola Forest.

Evidence extracted from his mobile phone, including WhatsApp exchanges, also showed that he had communicated with followers before they relocated to the forest.