Shakahola massacre: Paul Mackenzie pleads not guilty to 191 murder charges

Preacher Paul Mackenzie and 29 of his co-accused persons were on Tuesday arraigned before the Malindi High Court where they pleaded not guilty to the murder of 191 children in Shakahola.

According to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), the 30 suspects were charged after a mental test found them fit to stand trial.

One more suspect, Evans Kolombe, however did not answer the charges after the mental assessment established that he was unfit to take the stand.

The prosecution, led by Victor Mule, set an application to have Kolombe undergo another mental test before making a verdict.

The accused persons are suspected to have allegedly committed the mass murders on unknown diverse dates from January 2021 to September 2023.

“The court heard that some of the murdered children were identified by name, while others were named by initials since they were unidentified by investigators. The court also heard that the genders of some of the murdered children were unknown,” the ODPP said in a statement.

The defence objected to the number of murder charges presented in court against their clients.

Subsequently, the prosecution made an application to deny the 30 suspects access to bail; the application was deferred by the court until the defence’s objection is heard and determined.

Lady Justice Mugure Thande ruled that the defence and prosecution counsels should file their applications by February 13 and 20 respectively.