DPP Haji Goes After Pastor Mackenzie's Property
DPP Haji noted that initial investigations had placed the suspects at the centre of a series of series of crimes including murder and abetting victims to die by suicide.
Marvin Chege 
Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Noordin Haji on Tuesday, April 25 ordered police officers to seize assets belonging to controversial pastor Paul Mackenzie linked to the Shakahola massacre.
In a statement, the DPP expressed his shock and horror upon visiting the Shakahola Village in Malindi, Kilifi County at what he described as heinous crimes committed by the pastor and his cult.
He further explained that his office had obtained court orders on April 17, 2023, to enable the investigation officers to exhume 17 bodies from the village to ensure that the victims of these crimes receive justice and the perpetrators are held accountable.
DPP Haji noted that initial investigations had placed the suspects at the centre of a series of series of crimes including murder and abetting victims to die by suicide.
Security officers exhuming bodies at Shakahola graves in Kilifi County on Sunday, April 23, 2023. /FILE
"Preliminary investigations indicate that the suspects may have committed serious crimes including but not limited to murder; procuring, counselling and aiding persons to kill themselves; terrorist acts by threatening national security and public safety and radicalization. This is in violation of various statutes such as the Penal Code, the Prevention of Terrorism Act, the International Crimes Act, and the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act, among others.
"Therefore, in recognition of the seriousness, magnitude and complexity of the case, the ODPP has today, the 25th of April, 2023, obtained further orders for the exhumation of an unknown number of bodies from the 800-acre of land in Shakahola village," the DPP stated in part.
He also pointed out that the preliminary investigations indicated that the pastor and his co-accused may have been promoting radical belief systems for the purpose of facilitating ideologically based violence to advance political, religious or social change against the law, which led to Pastor Mackenzie's detention.
"However, noting that the investigations are ongoing, the Decision to Charge will be made based on the entirety of the evidence.
"Further, the ODPP has directed investigation officers to identify the assets of the suspects herein for purposes of preservation, confiscation and forfeiture in accordance with the law," he added.
The statement comes on top of his vow to prosecute the controversial preacher and his co-accused to the full extent of the law, coming hours after he assured that the controversial pastor would be charged with radicalisation and terrorism.
As of April 25, the death toll from the Shakahola massacre stood at 90 after 17 more bodies were exhumed from shallow graves in the 800-acre piece of land.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki on Tuesday, April 25 recommended genocide charges be pronounced against pastor Mackenzie, condemning the actions of the proprietor of the Good News International Church in Malindi whose controversial teachings had led to the heinous act of his followers fasting to death.
The CS spoke when he toured Shakahola forest to assess the situation on the ground as efforts to exhume the bodies of Mackenzie's 'brainwashed' followers ran into the fifth day.
"I would like to say Paul Mackenzie and all his collaborators have a date with destiny. It is true that by the time the law caught up with him, he had already caused a lot of harm.
"But for the lives lost and the hurt he has inflicted on humanity, he will pay dearly. Over and above charging Mackenzie with terrorism, I am convinced that a case can be built for charging him and his collaborators with genocide," Kindiki stated.
The CS affirmed that the atrocious actions committed by Mackenzie had broken Kenyan and international laws and the pastor should be presented before the International Criminal Court (ICC) to answer for his crimes.
Interior CS Kithure Kindiki arrives in Malindi, Kilifi, ahead of his visit to Shakahola on April 25, 2023. /VIRALTEAKE
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