Controversial preacher Paul Makenzie and his co-suspects will be detained for seven more days in connection with the Shakahola starvation cult.
The defendants appeared in the Shanzu law courts, and the judge ordered them to be detained for another seven days and return to court on October 19 for more instructions regarding the cult that left over 400 people dead.
The court will next determine whether to imprison the 27 suspects for six months as the investigation into the murderous cult continues.
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Acting on behalf of the suspects, Lawywer Wycliffe Makasembo opposed detention, alleging that the accused's continued detention breaches their rights as suspects.
The prosecution told the court, through Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Jami, that the request for additional detention is justifiable based on the seriousness of the case.
Terrorism, murder, suicide counseling, and helping suicide are among the charges against the accused, as are kidnapping, radicalization, genocide, crimes against humanity, child abuse, fraud, and money laundering.
Interior CS Kithure Kindiki denied claims that the government knew the cult's existence but did nothing about it.
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Speaking before the Senate Ad Hoc Committee, Interior Cabinet Secretary (CS) Kithure Kindiki said Mackenzie has been on the government's radar since his imprisonment in 2017. However, how the burial site missed the intelligence service's observation is unknown.
He claims that intelligence led to these arrests, but no intelligence was available on the final matter regarding the forest. They're getting closer to figuring out why there was no intelligence, especially in the vulnerable locations where people started dying.
