Good News International Ministries preacher Paul Mackenzie and 38 others have been remanded until February 15 pending hearing of their bail application in child abuse case facing them.
The group was on Thursday arraigned before the Tononoka Children Court in Mombasa on multiple counts of children-related offences ranging from subjecting children to torture, assault, cruelty to children and infringing a child's right to education.
The suspects were charged in their capacity as parents to children who were rescued from the infamous Shakahola forest in Chakama Ranch, Kilifi.
The prosecution preferred 17 counts of child offences against the suspects under the Children Act, 2012, the Prevention of Torture Act 2017 and the Basic Education Act 2013.
“These charges include two counts of subjecting a child to torture with an alternative count of assault causing actual bodily harm, nine charges of cruelty to a child, and six counts of infringing a child's right to education,” the prosecution led by Deputy Director of Public Prosecution Victor Mule told the court.
The accused persons allegedly committed the offences on diverse dates between 2019 and 2023.
All the 39 suspects denied all the charges and were remanded at Shimo La Tewa prison pending the hearing of their bail application.
The Prosecution has opposed their release on bail or bond in all the charges.
Mackenzie and 94 others are also facing 238 manslaughter charges at a Mombasa court in relation to the exhumation of 429 bodies at the Shakahola forest.
At least 23 of the victims have been identified through DNA analysis.
The group was first charged on January 17, 2024, after spending 277 days in custody as investigators worked to gather evidence against them.
On Tuesday, three court clerks took turns reading all the 238 charges to the 95 suspects, all contained in 479 pages.
All the suspects denied the charges but were denied bail pending a hearing on the application on February 13, 2024.
Mackenzie and the co-accused were last week also charged at Malindi High Court with the murder of 191 children.
They all denied the charges and the court is scheduled to mention the matter on February 8.
The 95 have also been charged at Shanzu Law Courts with four counts of terror-related activities.
