Shakahola Massacre: Mackenzie, Co-Accused Detained For A Further 130 Days

A key suspect in the Shakahola massacre was Thursday detained in custody for a further 130 days.

A Shanzu court granted the state’s application to extend the detention of Paul Mackenzie and 65 other suspects for 130 days pending investigations and charges.

The state had requested 180 days of additional detention through Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Jami Yamina.

Senior Principal Magistrate Joe Omido said that the prosecutions had advanced compelling reasons on merit.

He said the court was convinced that detectives required time to gather evidence before preparing charges against each of the suspects.

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Police said in an affidavit supporting the application that the investigation is complex, particularly the extraction of DNA material from 429 bodies for analysis.

Omido noted that 360 bodies were severely decomposed, making the autopsy exercise delicate, costly, laborious, and time consuming.

The court said solving the mystery of what caused the deaths in the Shakahola massacre was a complex adventure akin to putting together a jigsaw puzzle that required significant time and resources.

The court agreed that suspects pose a flight risk due to the gravity of the crimes they face, as well as the risk of interfering with potential witnesses and causing self-harm.

Omido also ruled that if the suspects were released, their own safety would be jeopardized because some had left their homes with children who are now missing and presumed dead in the Shakahola massacre.

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The court also ruled that the DPP needed enough time to review the evidence and decide on the nature of the charges against each of the 66 suspects.

“The upshot is that I will allow their further remand in custody for 130 days which I think will serve the intended purpose,” added the magistrate.

The court ordered that the suspects be held at Shimo La Tewa GK, Kilifi GK, and Malindi GK Men and Women Remand for a further period of not more than 130 days, beginning on September 11, when the application was filed.

The case will be heard on January 18, 2024, for the State to update the court on the status of the investigations and for further orders.

Yamina said the suspects will enter pleas on January 18, 2024, subject only to the DPP’s instructions.

The decision on Mackenzie’s application will be delivered on January 9, 2024.

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Mackenzie, who is in police custody, is being investigated for influencing his followers to starve to death in order to meet their maker.

Police also suspect that some of the victims did not starve to death and may have been killed and then buried on the property.

He has denied wrongdoing, but has been refused bail. He insists that he shut down his church in 2019.

The followers say he told them to starve themselves in order to “meet Jesus”.

The pastor of Good News International is being held in connection with the deaths of over 400 people in a suspected starvation cult in Shakahola, Kilifi County.

More than 429 people have been confirmed dead in the suspected cults so far, with over 600 people still reported missing.