MOMBASA, Kenya, Mar 7 – Controversial cult leader Paul Mackenzie created a scene on Thursday at the Malindi High Court created a scene after being allegedly denied an opportunity to communicate with his co-accused.
The tension escalated when two prison wardens separated Mackenzie from his fellow followers who shared the dock.
Mackenzie expressed his dissatisfaction, threatening to cause chaos.
The situation was eventually diffused by Mackenzie’s legal representatives, James Mouko and Wycliff Makasembo, who intervened to calm him down.
Mackenzie, alongside 29 other accused individuals, appeared before the Malindi High Court to face charges related to the murder of 191 children, whose bodies were discovered in Shakahola forest last year.
During the proceedings, Mackenzie’s legal team, comprising Mouko and Makasembo, moved to have the charge sheet dismissed, citing defects and an overwhelming number of charges.
They argued for a reduction in the counts from 191 to a more manageable 12.
“Having numerous counts in a single charge sheet is burdensome. The charge sheet is flawed as it lacks specificity regarding the alleged offenses’ time frame and fails to disclose the ages and genders of the deceased. Our plea is for the charge sheet to be deemed defective and struck out, or alternatively, for the court to instruct the DPP to specify the charges,” said Muoko.
In response, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, led by Victor Mule, urged the court to reject Mackenzie’s lawyers’ requests.
Mule insisted that they possessed substantial evidence against the accused, emphasizing that the charges carried the possibility of a death sentence.
The fate of the case now rests in the hands of Malindi High Court Judge Mugure Thande, who is slated to deliver the ruling on May 17.
