A court has ruled that controversial Pastor Paul McKenzie is guilty of being in possession and distributing unclassified films.
In a statement on Friday, November 10, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions announced that the court had also found McKenzie guilty of operating a film studio without a valid license.
Consequently, the court ordered the Probation and Aftercare Services to file a pre-sentence report capturing the sentiments of the prosecution side in the case.
“One Paul Mckenzie has today been found guilty of being in possession and distributing films which have not been classified and operating a film studio without a valid filming licence. Prosecution’s Joseph Mwangi proved the case,” the statement read.
“The court also ordered that a pre-sentence report be filed by the Probation and Aftercare Services to capture the sentiments of the complainant, which is the Prosecution. The case will be mentioned on 1st Dec. 2023.”
The Good News International Church pastor had been under the radar of Kenyan authorities after he was linked to the infamous Shakohola Massacre.
He was arrested after detectives linked his church to the starvation cult that left hundreds of people dead under mysterious circumstances.
A subsequent search in 800-acre land owned by McKenzie led to the rescue of hundreds of other people believed to have been parishioners of the cult.
Upon his arraignment in court back in May, the prosecution side requested to detain him without trial in a bid to buy more time for investigations.
Among the charges preferred against him included violating laws relating to filming and film classification.
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In addition, McKenzie was accused of inciting people to disobey law and producing films without a valid license.
DPP update on Mackenzie Case
Director of Public Prosecutions Renson Igonga had in October announced that his department was working to finalize investigations and unearth the truth behind the massacre.
Further, DPP requested to hold McKenzie in detention for more time to facilitate the investigations.
Pastor Ezekeil Odero, another pastor linked to the deaths, was however cleared from the case after a series of investigations.
Also Read: Court Rules on Pastor Paul Mackenzie’s Fate
Following an application by Odero’s lawyers, the court dropped charges preferred against the televangelist and asked the state to refund his bail money. However, the DPP maintained that the case was still far from over and hinted at more investigations.
