The controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie will be imprisoned for 30 days as detectives investigate the Shakahola atrocity, which has so far claimed the lives of over 133 people.

Senior Principal Magistrate Yusuf Shikanda issued the order, stating that releasing the suspects would jeopardize their safety and the continuing investigation.

The 30-day imprisonment will begin on May 3 to allow investigators to investigate the deaths of suspected members of a starving cult.

The prosecution, led by Jami Yamina, expressed disagreement with the court's timeframe, requesting that the suspects be kept for at least 90 days.


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On Wednesday, the preacher was arraigned with 17 other accused, including his wife, before the Shanzu law courts.

Detectives want Mackenzie and 17 others held because the case is evolving, and there are lines of inquiry still to be investigated, Based on an affidavit signed by the Investigating Officer, Inspector Raphael Wanjohi.

In court records, the prosecution contends that new information indicates compelling reasons for the respondents' prolonged incarceration while the inquiry is ongoing.

The prosecution claims that extra investigation is required because the second through seventeenth individuals' names are unknown.

The prosecution further contends that until the exhumations are finished, the identities of some of the victims, who are thought to be relatives of some of the respondents, will not be known.

"It is only after the last body has been exhumed that DNA material from it can be obtained for analysis with that of the respondents," according to the court filings.

While investigations into the cult fatalities continue, the suspects will be housed in several police stations across Kilifi.