The Tononoka Children Court in Mombasa has commenced the hearing of the Shakahola massacre case involving controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie and 38 other accused individuals, who are the parents of child victims rescued from Shakahola forest.
In its opening statement, the prosecution declared its intent to prove that the accused persons subjected the children to severe maltreatment.
The prosecution aims to demonstrate that the accused deprived the children of food, caused them unnecessary suffering and injury to their health, and violated their right to education.
The prosecution also plans to show how the accused acted with common intention through their alleged actions, implicating each other in the offences.
According to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution, the prosecution has prepared a lineup of child and adult witnesses who will provide firsthand accounts of the ordeals the children faced at the hands of those they trusted the most.
Pastor Paul Mackenzie and his co-accused face a total of 17 counts of offences under various Kenyan laws, including the Children Act 2012, the Prevention of Torture Act 2017, and the Basic Education Act 2013.
The charges comprise 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.
