Cult leader Paul Makenzi appeals jail sentence

Convicted cult leader Paul Makenzi and his co-accused are not giving up on their quest for freedom and have filed an appeal at the Mombasa High Court against long terms in jail.

Their lawyer, Lawrence Obonyo, filed the notice of appeal.

Obonyo stated that his clients were not satisfied with the decision of the High Court, adding that the appeal would challenge the respective decision.

Speaking at the Mombasa High Court after the sentencing of his clients, Obonyo said that the 200 years handed to Makenzi was constitutionally unattainable.

‘’The appeal for the judgment is coming up for direction on November 27, 2026. Once we get direction from the Court of Appeal, we will combine it with the issue of sentencing," said Obonyo.

Obonyo argued that it could have been better for Makenzi to serve a life sentence and not 200 years.

He was sentenced to 200 years in prison for murdering 190 children and one adult.

The court sentenced the cult leader to 100 years in prison for homicide and another 100 years for offences related to starvation.

The sentences within each category will run concurrently, but the two sets will run consecutively, bringing his total prison term to 200 years.

Makenzi was tried alongside 28 accomplices, including guards who enforced his fasting orders and gravediggers who helped conceal the victims' bodies in mass graves.

They received varying prison sentences of up to 160 years.

Prosecutors had sought the death penalty, arguing that the scale and circumstances of the killings warranted the harshest punishment.

However, Justice Diana Mochache declined to impose the death penalty, despite ruling that the case met the threshold for its consideration.

Before their conviction on October 19, this year, they had all pleaded not guilty and insisted that nobody was forced to die.