Shakahola is this forest near Malindi, on the Kenyan coast, where the remains of 430 followers of the International Church of the Good News of Pastor Paul Mackenzie, who preached extreme fasting to meet Jesus, were found. The defendants will face around ten charges.
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With our correspondent in Nairobi, Gaëlle Laleix
Murder, assault, criminal association, radicalization, torture and cruelty towards children… This is a sample of the charges that will be brought by the Attorney General’s office against Pastor Paul Mackenzie and his co-defendants. In a press release, the Attorney General announced that 95 people will be prosecuted in this dark affair.
Until now, there were only 29 suspects, in pre-trial detention since May. 66 survivors were also detained by the courts during the investigation of the case, but not yet charged. Yesterday, the prosecutor’s office lifted the veil on its intentions. In his press release, he announced that he had amassed “ enough evidence » to pursue them « thanks to scientific analyzes “.
The prosecutor’s office also undertakes “ to pursue these cases quickly, in the general interest of all “. Last week, the judges of the Shanzu court where the case is being heard, ordered the public prosecutor to speed up the indictment of the suspects in pre-trial detention. That of Pastor Paul Mackenzie and his co-accused is the longest in Kenyan judicial history, since the establishment of the last Constitution. The judges therefore convened a hearing on January 23.