‘Paul Mackenzie, you have crippled me and left me with no leg to stand on. My two sons are now dead, lying in the morgue and can no longer support me as they once did,” a witness told the court in the Shakahola murder trial.
These were the words of Mr Titus Ngonyo Ngandi, who lost six family members in the Shakahola massacre that claimed over 429 members of the Good News International (GNI) church, associated with Mr Mackenzie.
The 61-year-old addressed Mr Mackenzie directly in Mombasa Court while testifying against him and his 95 co-accused, all facing 238 manslaughter charges.
“What you did to me, Mackenzie, felt like you shattered all my hands,” he told Chief Magistrate Alex Ithuku.
Mr Ngandi lost his wife, Esther Bahati Masha, his sons Isaac Ngala and Harry Ngonyo, daughter-in-law Emily Wanje, and two grandsons in the tragic events.
Mr Titus Ngonyo, the father to General Service Unit officer Isaac Ngala who joined Pastor Paul Mackenzie in Shakahola, Kilifi County.
Photo credit: Alex Kalama | Nation Media Group
Mr Ngala had served as a General Service Unit (GSU) officer attached to the Anti-Stock Theft Unit since 2011, while Ms Masha was an active hawker at White Elephant Beach.
The family attended Calvary Worship Centre Muyeye, where Ngonyo played keyboard and was studying a shipping-related course in Mombasa.
“She was the first to join the church, she then influenced and recruited Ngala and Ngonyo. This was in the year 2018, and it was the same time that Ngonyo dropped out of college,” he told the court while being led by Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Jami Yamina.
Mr Ngandi's troubles began in 2015 when he bought agricultural land in Kamale and moved there in 2018, leaving his family in Muyeye.
“I would visit them briefly and communicate with Ngonyo, who assured me he was doing well in school,” he said.
Mr Titus Ngonyo and his son William Ponda.
Photo credit: File | Nation
Mr Ngala married Emily Wanje in 2017 and had three children, while Ngonyo had a wife he did not introduce to his father. Unknown to Mr Ngandi, while he focused on farming, his family began joining Mackenzie’s church, which led to significant changes in their lives and beliefs.
Upon returning home one day, Mr Ngandi was shocked to find Ms Masha preparing to leave.
“I asked where she was going, and she said to church,” he recalled, struggling to hold back tears. “I expected her to welcome me, but she was in a hurry,” he added.
His wife’s rush puzzled him, given their church, Calvary, was nearby. When he confronted her, she told him she was going to Malindi GNI and hurriedly served him tea before leaving.
“Her behavior changed drastically after joining the church. She prayed almost all the time, even at odd hours,” he said as he was being led by a team of prosecutors comprising Victor Owiti, Betty Rubia and Hillary Isiaho.
Mr Ngandi testified that Masha began spreading the belief that children should not receive formal education, which strained their relationship with the neighbours.
“I tried to talk to her, but she was adamant, so I returned to Kamale,” he said. It was during this time he learned Ngonyo had dropped out of college and became an active GNI member, even being appointed as a caretaker for one of Mackenzie’s plots.
In 2019, Masha visited Kamale and spread Mackenzie’s teachings, urging villagers to keep their children out of school and abandon formal employment and to burn all government-issued documents, including academic certificates and Huduma numbers.
“I became concerned and faced issues with the community because of her beliefs. I eventually chased her away after she caused tension among the villagers,” he explained while being cross examined by Mackenzie’s lawyer Lawrence Obonyo.
Despite Masha’s apologies, Mr Ngandi found out she had recruited neighbours and relatives into the cult. In a bid to change the situation, he visited his home in Muyeye more frequently, but his efforts were in vain.
Bodies exhumed at Shakahola Forest being loaded to a Police Van in this photo taken on May 13, 2023.
Photo credit: FILE
In December 2020, Masha,54, visited him again at Kamale , but he later discovered that she had brought all his belongings. In early 2021, he received a call from his neighbour, informing him that his home in Muyeye had been deserted.
“The house was deserted, and I couldn’t reach my wife or sons by phone. They had all disappeared. All household items, including beddings, farm tools were missing,” he said, recounting the heartache of that moment.
In September 2022, Ms Masha called from an unfamiliar number, asking for help contacting Ngonyo, but communication ceased soon after.
On March 6, 2023, Ngonyo visited his father to share the news of the arrival of his grandson, who had just been born.
“We talked for about 40 minutes. He appeared very weak, contrary to his normal appearance. He explained that he was facing hard economic times, which is why he looked so weak, and then he left,” he said.
Just weeks later, on March 18, Mr Ngandi received devastating news from his second son, William Ponda, about their family’s fate in Shakahola.
“He told me that all the family members who went missing are at Shakahola and that two of my grandsons have been found dead and buried,” he recounted in court.
Ongoing exhumation at a mass grave inside Shakahola Forest.
Photo credit: File| Nation Media Group
As bodies were being exhumed and victims rescued from the forest were being brought to the hospital for treatment, he checked and found none of his family members.
“Both Ngala and Ngonyo died in the forest. I also buried my wife and daughter-in-law this year,” he told the court.
In this case, Mackenzie and his 95 co-accused persons are facing charges of manslaughter, accused of killing 238 people in the Shakahola forest.
