00:00A Kenyan court is expected to sentence cult leader Paul McKenzie on Friday after he was convicted of murdering 190
00:07children and one adult.
00:10Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, citing the scale of the loss of life and the danger posed by McKenzie's
00:17actions.
00:18His lawyers say he will appeal the conviction.
00:21McKenzie was accused of urging followers to starve themselves to death to meet Jesus Christ.
00:27The case is part of the Shakahola Forest Massacre where hundreds of bodies have been found since 2023.
00:35Kenya retains the death penalty in law but has not carried out on his execution since 1987.
00:43McKenzie also faces separate manslaughter and terrorism charges which he denies.
00:48McKenzie was arrested in April 2023 after a rice group alerted authorities and some followers were rescued from the 325
00:57-hectare ranch in the Shakahola Forest on Kenya's coast.
01:00The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights put the death toll at 429 in 2024.