There was drama at the Malindi High Court on Thursday after controversial cult leader Paul Mackenzie protested being denied an opportunity to interact with his co-accused.
Trouble started when two prison wardens sandwiched Mackenzie, preventing him from talking to the other two followers who were in the same dock with him.
Mackenzie shouted at the officers saying he would cause chaos if the officers did not stop frustrating him.
It took the intervention of his two lawyers James Mouko and Wycliff Makasembo to calm him down.
Mackenzie and 29 other accused persons were appearing before the Malindi High Court to face judges in the murder of 191 children whose bodies were retrieved from Shakahola forest last year.
Mackenzie’s lawyers, Muoko and Makasembo, asked the court to strike out the charge sheet, saying it was defective and all the 191 charges were similar.
They want the charges to be brought down to only 12.
“Having many counts in a single charge sheet is overloading. The charge sheet is defective as it fails to disclose the specific period when the alleged offences occurred,” Muoko said.
He added: "It does not show the ages of the deceased and gender. Therefore, our prayer is that the charge sheet is defective and should be struck out, if not, the court should give the DPP an order to come up with specific counts.”
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, led by Victor Mule, asked the court to throw out the prayers by Mackenzie’s lawyers.
Mule said they have enough concrete evidence against the suspects, adding that the charges against the accused person attract a death sentence.
Malindi High Court Judge Mugure Thande is expected to deliver the ruling on May 17, 2024.
