- The respondents while at the rescue centre are said to have declined to take their meals.
- They are accused of denying the minors who were among them the right to food
Image: FILE
Police now want the court to transfer 65 people believed to be followers of Pastor Paul Mackenzi to the prison where they can be forced to eat.
Senior Prosecution Council Jami Yamina on Monday asked the Shanzu Magistrate Court to allow the police to transfer the 65 victims from a rescue centre to a prison facility.
“The number of respondents cannot be accommodated at a police station due to scarcity of facilities, unlike the prison custody for their safety and security. We also want to ensure that they are well-fed while in prison custody,” said Yamina.
He also said the communities and the families are highly unlikely to take them back to their homes.
According to Yamina, the Shakahola incident stirred public anger and contempt towards the respondents, thus the police are apprehensive that releasing them to the community when tension is high could expose them to harm.
He also said that releasing the respondents may result in unreasonable delay or total inability to effect justice for the deceased.
Shanzu Law Court Senior Principal Magistrate Joe Omido is expected to rule on the matter on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the respondents will be held at Shimo La Tewa Prison
The 65 people were on Monday arraigned before the Shanzu Law Court for attempted suicide.
According to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) and the Director of Criminal Investigation, the 65 persons, who were rescued from the vast Shakahola forest, had refused to eat while at a rescue centre.
DCI officer Joshua Nyambu Shoka, who is currently investigating the victims and their involvement in the Shakahola incident that has left over 280 persons dead, said the victims had on diverse dates between June 6 and June 10 refused to eat.
The over 280 persons, whose bodies have been exhumed from the vast 800-acre Shakahola forest, are said to have starved to death after they were allegedly instructed by Mackenzie.
Shoka told the Shanzu Magistrate Court that the 65 respondents (victims) were rescued from the bushes of Shakahola on diverse dates between May 20 and June 10. That they were all in critical condition and were found with signs of starvation.
They were taken for treatment and thereafter taken to a rescue centre.
“The respondents while at the rescue centre declined to take their meals, that is their breakfast, lunch and supper served to them from June 6 to June 10, claiming that they wanted to die and meet their creator (God),” reads part of Shoka’s sworn affidavit.