Judge faults DPP after Makenzi's murder case hearing fails to take off

A judge has expressed disappointment at the prosecution after the hearing failed to take off in the murder case against controversial preacher Paul Makenzi.

Justice Diana Mochache had travelled from Nairobi to Mombasa and was scheduled to hear the matter this week, but the prosecution said that they were not ready to proceed.

The judge had a target of hearing at least the first 20 witnesses and faulted the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution’s Alex Ndiema and Victor Simbi, who were in court, for not communicating early that they were not ready to proceed.

The duo told Justice Mochache that the Shakahola case had a special team of prosecutors who did not manage to travel to Mombasa due to logistical challenges.

Ndiema told the High Court in Mombasa that he was proceeding on leave while Simbi said that he was travelling for studies and that they were asked to appear in court in the afternoon to make an application for new hearing dates.

“The question is, why did you not communicate? When I wrote on 29th, when I wrote yesterday, why didn’t you tell me that Judge we are not ready to proceed? The accused persons have spent the entire day here, hungry, waiting for the matter to be heard. The dates were given by the prosecutors. I will not mention their names. There must be coordination,” Justice Mochache told the prosecution.

Makenzi who is facing 191 counts of murder alongside 29 other persons, protested the move by the prosecution saying he has been in custody since March 2023 and he was ready to proceed with the matter.

The controversial preacher through his advocate Lawrence Obonyo who is also representing the other accused persons asked the court not to allow the adjournment, saying that the pre-trial had been done twice and the investigating officer was in court, and he hoped that the first four witnesses were already in court.

“The DPP knew that the matter was coming to court today. They had the dates. Ndiema talks of an amendment of the charge sheet yet the DPP has sufficient time without stopping the wheels of justice. This honorable court has travelled all the way from Nairobi to hear the matter,” Obonyo said.

Justice Mochache asked the DPP why they kept quiet over the matter of adjournment, forcing her to travel to Mombasa with her team, which included the driver, bodyguard, legal researcher and a secretary only to be told that the prosecution was not ready to proceed.

She ordered the prosecution to be ready by Wednesday for the hearing.