Paul Mackenzie, the Kilifi-based cultic leader, was, on Friday, May 5, denied bail after he failed to convince the Magistrate to set him free.
Mackenzie, his wife, Rhoda Mumbua Maweu, and sixteen other co-accused persons, will remain in police custody for five more days.
Shanzu Law Courts will on May 10 deliver a ruling on a request by police to detain them for 90 more days.
While seeking court orders to free them on a considerable bail, the Good News International Church Pastor claimed that police denied them food while behind bars.
Mackenzie further alleged that he was targeted by police officers who also subjected him to torture and inhuman treatment.
The nineteen Good News International Church members were investigated for criminal activities at Shakahola Forest, including helping people kill themselves, radicalisation, and terrorism.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) accused Mackenzie of manipulating people through skewed, extreme religious teachings and fear.
While appearing before Shanzu Law Courts, the prosecution stated that Mackenzie propagated 'silent violence' of the unknown in pursuit of salvation, leading to the deaths of many of his followers.
"He was preaching a doctrine that encourages his followers to starve themselves to death in order to reach heaven faster," the Prosecution stated.
ODPP also informed the Magistrate that, acting on the orders of the court, the police were reviewing Mackenzie's phone records and interviewing individuals connected to the church.
The court was also told that a team of government Pathologists was still carrying out a post-mortem exercise that Monday, May 1, 2023.
The exercise will be conducted on the 110 bodies that detectives exhumed from an 800-acre piece of land in Shakahola village, Kilifi County.
