Cult leader Paul Mackenize alongside 94 other accused individuals, have initiated another hunger strike while in detention, which has prompted a Magistrate court in Mombasa to order their immediate hospitalization.
The suspects arrived at the Mombasa Law Court for a hearing regarding the case where they faced charges of 238 counts of manslaughter, but Upon arrival, they were too frail to exit the prison vehicles. They remained at the court basement as it became apparent that they lacked the strength to walk into the courtroom.
After several months of being detained without formal charges, the State was prepared to present arguments against granting bail to the accused individuals facing 238 counts of manslaughter.
The accused persons were unable to advance to the appointed courtroom within the Mombasa Law Court forcing Chief Magistrate Alex Ithuku to visit them in the basement.
He learned that the accused persons had commenced the hunger strike on Sunday with some having started much earlier, going for as long as seven days without food.
The State opposed the release of the accused persons on bail on the grounds that they had no fixed abode making them a flight risk with the public prosecutor also citing witness tampering.
