Kenya: Murkomen Vows to Isolate Paul Mackenzie in Prison Over Fears of Radicalising Inmates

What the report says

Kenya’s Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said the government will keep preacher Paul Mackenzie under exclusive custody in prison, arguing that contact with other inmates could allow him to spread radical views. Murkomen made the remarks in Ikolomani Constituency, Kakamega, while discussing post-conviction security measures linked to the Shakahola case.

According to the report distributed by AllAfrica from Capital FM, the plan is to place Mackenzie in a separate area and limit his interaction with other prisoners. The statement followed intelligence indicating he may have tried to influence fellow inmates and police officers while in custody. Murkomen said the aim is to prevent religious extremism from taking root inside the prison system, while still respecting constitutional freedom of worship.

The comments came after the High Court in Mombasa sentenced Mackenzie to 200 years in prison over the Shakahola massacre, in which 191 people, including 190 children, died. The court said he orchestrated a system of religious indoctrination that led followers to starve themselves and their children. In the same case, 28 co-accused were also convicted and received prison terms ranging from 10 to 160 years. The tragedy, uncovered in 2023 in Kilifi County, remains one of Kenya’s most disturbing criminal and religious extremism cases.