A self-proclaimed pastor, Paul Mackenzie, founder of a religious cult in which 429 people starved to death to "meet Jesus Christ," was sentenced by a Kenyan court to one year in prison for producing films without a valid license.
He received an extra six months in prison for broadcasting the films on a gospel TV channel to the public without a valid operating license.
"The accused is found guilty as charged and is hereby sentenced to one year and six months imprisonment respectively. The accused has 14 days to file an appeal," the judge said.
The judge noted that even though the defendant said he did not know he had to obtain a broadcast license, "ignorance of the law is no defense."
Local media added that Mackenzie was convicted and fined for a similar offense in 2017.
The pastor was arrested on April 14 after authorities toured the notorious Shakahola forest and launched an investigation into the deaths of his devotees. The same month, police began exhuming bodies from shallow graves in the remote forest.
In May, prosecutors announced that Mackenzie would be charged with terrorism.
In May, President William Ruto formed a government commission of inquiry into the deaths of hundreds of people related to the religious cult. Ruto also vowed to crack down on "unacceptable" religious movements. In August, Kenyan authorities interdicted five churches allegedly linked to the incident, including that of Mackenzie.
As for the latest progress in the investigation, at the end of November, the commission identified the names of about 131 children who died in the forest.
In 2019, Mackenzie was also accused of brainwashing and abducting children to join his group, as well as being involved in the deaths of two children who died of starvation and suffocation and were later buried in a shallow grave in the Shakahola forest. However, the former taxi driver was released on bail.