- The director of public prosecution has closed his first case in the murder case against preacher Paul Mackenzie and 35 other defendants
- Eyewitnesses include a Safaricom data analyst, a young woman whose family joined the denomination, and a DCI officer who rescued children from trauma from Shakahola
- The case involving child violence and deprivation, will be re -mentioned in October while other cases of murder and terrorism against Mackenzie continue
The murder case involving controversial preacher Paul Nthenge Mackenzie and his 35 -year -old suspect has taken a new stream.
Source: Getty Images
This is after the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) officially closed his first case involving crime against children.
The case, which has been going on in the Tononoka Children’s Court since July 2024, was due to the deaths and abuse associated with the Shakahola worship.
Has ODPP closed the first Mackenzie case?
Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Jami Yamina led the Prosecuting Team along with lawyers Victor Owiti, Betty Rubia, Biasha Khalifa, and Eunice Odongo.
The case was heard before Chief Magistrate Nelly Chepchirchir.
“During the trial, the prosecution presented 75 witnesses in support of his charges, which include child abuse, torture, and deprivation of the right to education, all the offenses associated with traumatic events in Shakhola,” The ODPP said in a statement.
On the last day, three Witnesses testified. The data analyst of Safaricom Dennis Muriithi explained that the company received a court order to issue telephone records, M-money registration information and other data.
He confirmed that several phone numbers linked to Mackenzie were monitored, including the registration details and their use before some were re -published.
Did Mackenzie commit a crime against children?
The court also listened to evidence of 21 -year -old Israel Veronica from Chakama, Malindi, whose parents and uncle were among the defendants.
He recalled he was expelled from school in 2019 by six of his brothers after their father announced that education was a sin.
The family later sold their property in Nairobi and moved to Shakahola, where life was based on strong religious practices.
Inspector Phoebe Okomo from the child protection unit of DCI In Mombasa he described his role in the rescue and estimation of 27 children between one and a half and seventeen years.
He told the court that many children escaped as the fast continued. They lived in places called Judea, Samaria, and Jerusalem, and often gathered under a large tree for prayer and burial.
Okomo said the children recognized Mackenzie during the parade and reported deprivation, beating, and withdrawal from school.
He focused on several cases of abuse, including a victim who needed repair surgery due to injuries.
Many children also had trauma and needed advice from Play Therapy Kenya and the Director of Child Care.
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Is Mackenzie still facing other charges?
He also involved some of the children rescued by the defendant, noting that parents, uncles and even guards are among those facing trials.
In his last speech, he thanked the court and the prosecutor’s team, giving a condolences to the victims and families who lost their loved ones.
The DPP team also thanked the witnesses and the courts, saying that their evidence had shed light on the magnitude of the abuse.
Mackenzie and his fellow defendants are still facing other ongoing cases, including murder, illegal killings, and terrorism -related charges in the Mombasa High Court, the Mombasa Law Court and the Shanzu Law Court.
The case of Shakahola’s children will be referred again on October 14 to confirm whether the case has been printed for the purpose of submission.
Who else was a witness in the case of Shakahola?
Other witnesses who testified earlier this week include Maxwell Kisienya, Director of Bridge International Academy in Lungalunga. He testified about a student identified as SBB, who appeared at school last October 2017.
Kisienya explained that the child had been a student for two years but failed to return after being returned home due to non -payment of school fees on October 19, 2017.
State Pathology Dr Richard Njoroge, who conducted a post -corpse examination on four bodies found from the Hamiki cemetery in Shakhola, also testified. He told the court that due to severe deterioration, the cause of death could not be identified by many cases, since the bodies were reduced to skeletal remains.
Source: Twitter
Are there new killings near Shakahola?
Earlier TUKO.co.ke reported that detectives had fired 13 new cemeteries in the forest of Binzaro, thus causing fear of other murders similar to those of Shakahola.
The cemeteries were hidden inside the bush, unlike those of Shakahola, which were dug near people’s homes.
According to investigators, the discovery was led by suspects who are already in detention. The investigative teams relied on geographic placement tools to track hidden websites, where the victims of the closing ritual are believed to be buried in secret.
Authorities confirmed that some cemeteries may have many bodies, suggesting as many people’s burial as possible.
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Source: TUKO.co.ke
