In recent years, the expansive Chakama Ranch in Kilifi County has become a soft landing spot for suspected cults.
Local security officials have admitted that the idle parcel of land presents significant challenges. The land has been at the centre of perennial conflicts caused by disputes over ownership, use for grazing by pastoralists, and exploitation by locals who camp in the forest to cut trees for charcoal, firewood, and construction poles.
A police officer manning the home in Binzaro within Chakama Ranch, in what appears like the Shakahola cult.
Photo credit: Wachira Mwangi | Nation
Chakama's troubled landscape
On Monday, Kilifi County Commissioner Josephat Biwott said the government is now formulating strategies to address the Chakama Ranch issue, which has become a security concern.
“The land has been idle for a long time, and as a government, we see that it will bring a lot of issues,” he said.
He noted that land ownership disputes have also become common in the area because many people have fallen victim to conmen posing as landowners. The government has summoned the legitimate landowners to chart a way forward.
“Chakama is not community land. It is private property with a title, and the owners are known. We want the owners to tell us their plans for the land that is causing us challenges or we will discuss, as a government, how to deal with idle land,” he stated.
Preacher Paul Mackenzie, a key suspect behind the Shakahola massacre, which left over 400 people dead, is believed to have fraudulently acquired land there. This is where he set up a community that was convinced to fast to death, believing that they would go to heaven.
One of Pastor Paul Mackenzie Followers homestead at Chakama Ranch in Malindi, Kilifi County which was desserted following his arrest in this photo taken on April 17, 2023.
Photo credit: Kevin Odit | Nation
Mackenzie's Shakahola link
In 2021, members of the public raised alarms about Mackenzie, the leader of Good News International Ministries, who had acquired part of Chakama Ranch in the Shakahola area. He is facing several charges together with other suspects, including 191 murder charges that he has denied.
An official from Giriama Ranching Company Ltd disclosed that some years ago, herders found two bodies on the 800 acres allegedly owned by Pastor Mackenzie. This case was also reported at Langobaya Police Station in 2021.
In an earlier interview, the secretary of Chakama Ranching Company Ltd Alfred Mwathethe, said since officials live far from the expansive land, they rely on information from local contacts. It had not occurred to them that the land could be fraudulently acquired.
“We are still shocked that the lady bought land in March, and within a short period, she had managed to establish a home, mobilise people, and carry out cult activities comfortably,” Mr Kahindi Beja from Binzaro village said.
He added that the community suspects some of Mackenzie’s followers are still active, preaching his false gospel.
Police officers secure the Binzaro homestead in Chakama Ranch where the body of a middle-aged man was found. Authorities say at least 11 people are being investigated in what appears like the Shakahola cult.
Photo credit: Wachira Mwangi | Nation
New cults emerge in the forest
Mr George Konde, a local, noted that both locals and outsiders have settled in the forest, making it difficult to identify criminals.
“People are cutting down trees for charcoal and other uses, it’s hard to know who’s who,” he said.
During a recent police raid at the Binzaro village homestead, several individuals fled into the forest.
In April, Kilifi police arrested controversial preacher Abel Kahindi Gandi, 48, of New Foundation Church, which he established in remote Mwagandi village in 2023. The public raised concerns over cultic practices at his church. Several congregants reportedly died during prayer sessions.
A police officer manning the home in Binzaro Area in Chakama Ranch where a body of a middle age man was found. Authoritites say at least 8 people are being investigated in what appears like the Shakahola cult.
Photo credit: Wachira Mwangi | Nation
Trouble for Mr Gandi started after a woman died during an overnight vigil at his church, located just two kilometres from Chakama Trading Centre. He is accused of using bizarre exorcism methods. He instructed believers believed to be possessed to climb a “tree of life” for demons to be expelled and sold “living water” to followers.
Notably, some of his congregants were former followers of Mackenzie who had escaped arrest.
A police officer manning the home in Binzaro Area in Chakama Ranch where a body of a middle age man was found. Authoritites say at least 8 people are being investigated in what appears like the Shakahola cult.
Photo credit: Wachira Mwangi | Nation
Legal battle over Chakama ownership
Mr Peter Ponda, the national chairperson of the Taireni Association of Mijikenda (TAM), blamed rampant land corruption for making Chakama a hotspot for cult activity and land ownership fraud.
“The law is clear. You can’t just convert land into a ranch where people already live without their consent,” he said.
In 2021, the association went to court to challenge the privatisation of the entire 110,000-acre Chakama Community Ranch. The ranch stretches from Chakama in Magarini sub-county to Vitengeni, Bamba, Mrima wa Ndege, and Mwaeba in Ganze sub-county.
KIlifi: Police rescue four people in Chakama forest in another suspected religious fasting cult
However, the Environment and Land Court dismissed their petition, arguing that the association could not sue on behalf of the community since it did not own the land or have direct interests. It has since appealed the ruling, and a judgment is expected on July 24.
The association is challenging the ownership of the entire 110,000 acres, including Phase 1 and 2 (about 50,000 acres combined) and Phase 3, currently under adjudication. The rest of the land extending to Shakahola remains unadjudicated.
