Unusual Twist: 65 Mackenzie Victims Charged by DPP After Fasting in Shakahola
At the Sajahanadi Rescue Centre in Mtwapa, 65 individuals who had been rescued from Shakahola Forest in Kilifi County were labeled as attempted suicide suspects.
On Monday, June 12, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) announced that the suspects will be charged with attempting suicide by stealing meals in solidarity with the controversial pastor Paul Mackenzie.
As the Rescue Centre could no longer hold the suspects, the prosecution team, led by Jami Yamina and J.V. Owiti, applied to have them remanded to prison.
According to the ODPP, the sixty-five Mackenzie followers will undergo psychological and medical evaluations in prison. Despite their desire to continue fasting, the suspects will be required to consume food.
After refusing to enter a plea, Shanzu Senior Principal Magistrate Joe Omido will rule on the prosecution’s application on Thursday, June 15.
According to reports, the suspects had become violent, refused to eat, and simultaneously demanded their release.
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Mackenzie and his wife, Rhodah Mumbua, began a hunger strike on June 7, 2023, in response to Interior CS Kithure Kindiki’s threats to imprison the pastor for life.
If the government had already determined his fate, Mackenzie lamented, he would not receive any justice.
Mackenzie’s attorney, Wycliff Maksembo, stated, “We need a guarantee from Chief Justice Martha Koome that our client will receive justice in this trial.”
Sunday, June 4, during a sermon at Kenya Assemblies of God in Sagana, Kirinyaga, Kindiki stated that controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie would receive a life sentence for his crimes against humanity.
“Mackenzie will not get out of jail. He will grow old in it. We pray that God grants him more years to see the security of Kenya flourish. Mackenzie will face the wrath of God after serving his sentence, according to Kindiki.
Unusual Twist: 65 Mackenzie Victims Charged by DPP After Fasting in Shakahola
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