Controversial cleric Paul Mackenzie has filed an application seeking assurance that his trial will be fair.
The petition by the leader of the Good News International Ministries follows remarks attributed to Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki indicating that Mackenzie and his collaborators will spend the rest of their lives in prison.
In an application before Shanzu Senior principal magistrate Yusuf Shikanda through his Lawyer Wycliffe Makasembo, Mackenzie argues that the comments by the cabinet secretary raises question on whether he and his co-accused will be subjected to a fair trial.
The defense team says they need assurance from the Chief Justice, Justice and legal affairs committee in the National Assembly, Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Law Society of Kenya that their clients will receive a fair hearing.
Makasembo argues that the words uttered by the CS pointed to the possibility that the accused had already been tried and condemned even before they were heard.
He said some of the respondents have resorted to hunger strike and warned that they could boycott court proceedings if the matter is not addressed.
The prosecution however urged the court to dismiss the application filed by the defense counsel terming it misplaced.
Ogega Bosibori from the Office of the of ice of the Director of Public prosecution and Yusuf Abubakar from Haki Africa, who is representing the victims, said the judiciary was an independent entity and the defense should not rely on utterances by the cabinet secretary who is not part of the case.
Trial magistrate Yusuf Shikanda assured the Defense team that the Judiciary was an independent institution and will accord them a fair hearing as they were not answerable to the CS neither was he a party to the Case.
