Pastor Paul Mackenzie when he appeared before a Mombasa court on November 10, 2025.
Controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie, alias Mtumishi, and self-styled priestess Shallyne Anindo Temba, alias Ann, have been charged over what investigators describe as Shakahola season two, a fresh wave of cult-related deaths that occurred in Kwa Bi Nzaro forest in Chakama, Kilifi County.
Mackenzie and Temba were charged alongside Kahindi Kazungu Garama alias Mlewa, Tom Ochieng Mkonwe alias Thomas alias Tomaso, Julius Tuva Luwali and Johnson Gona Richard.
The six appeared before a Mombasa magistrate’s court and denied the charges, which the state alleges were committed on unknown dates between January and July 2025.
According to the charge sheet, the accused persons, “in pursuance of a suicide pact for the object of your death and others not before court,” jointly killed 29 victims.
Read: Shakahola confessions: Suspect who pleaded guilty details torture, starvation that killed over 400
Kwa Binzaro prime suspect Sharlyne Anindo Temba (left) and Pastor Paul Mackenzie.
In the first count, the prosecution alleges they killed Samuel Owino Owuoyo, a male adult identified as MLD/BODY 1/19.07.2025.
The remaining counts relate to 28 other victims, most described as unknown persons of unascertained gender and undetermined age.
Some bodies are identified through forensic and scene references, including BZRB/G006(1)/22.08.2025, BZRB/G006(2)/22.08.2025 and BZRB/G018/28.08.2025, among others bearing ASN and BP serial numbers linked to recovery sites in Kwa Bi Nzaro.
In a separate case before the Shanzu Law Courts, Mackenzie, Temba and six others face radicalisation and terrorism-related charges linked to the deaths of at least 52 members of the outlawed Good News International Ministries church.
Those charged alongside them are Garama, Mkonwe, Luwali, Gona, Musee alias Mzee Mutua and James Kazungu Kahindi alias Ponda alias Baba Bura.
According to the charge sheet, the eight are jointly facing six counts tied to alleged organised criminal activity and terrorism-related offences.
Prosecutors allege that between January and July 2025, at Kwa Bi Nzaro, the accused were members of a radicalised religious sect described as an organised criminal group that endangered the lives of its followers, leading to the deaths of at least 52 people.
They are accused of promoting an extreme belief system that rejected the authority of the Government of Kenya for the purpose of advancing ideologically driven violence, including urging followers to undertake hard fasting to death in pursuit of religious and social change.
Temba and Garama are further accused of facilitating the acquisition of land at Kwa Bi Nzaro that was allegedly used in preparation for the acts that resulted in the deaths. Garama, Luwali and Gona are also accused of facilitating the transportation of victims from Malindi Township to Kwa Bi Nzaro.
Morticians carry the remains of a person exhumed at Kwa Binzaro village within the vast Chakama Ranch in Kilifi County on August 28, 2025 as part of investigations into a suspected cult.
In addition, Temba, Garama, Mkonwe and Musee are charged with possession of materials linked to terrorism-related activities, including flash disks and SD cards containing recorded sermons allegedly intended to instigate followers to fast to death. They denied the charges.
The eight suspects were also presented before the High Court in Mombasa in connection with 25 counts of murder. However, they were not required to plead after the court ordered that they undergo a psychiatric assessment to determine whether they are mentally fit to stand trial.
The prosecution requested the mental assessment before plea-taking and indicated it would oppose any attempt to release the suspects on bond, seeking four days to file an affidavit opposing bond.
According to the charge sheet, the murder counts relate to the deaths of children of unknown gender aged between one and 11 years.
Musee and Kahindi separately face charges of being accessories after the fact of murder. The state alleges they received Julius Tuva Luwali and assisted Temba, Garama and Mkonwe, knowing they had committed the offences of murder, in order to help them escape punishment.
The Kwa Bi Nzaro case is linked to the larger Shakahola tragedy, where Mackenzie is facing similar charges over the deaths of more than 450 members of the Good News International Ministries church.
Investigations have established that the Kwa Bi Nzaro deaths were not an isolated incident but a continuation of the Shakahola cult operations linked to remnants of Mackenzie’s outlawed Good News International church.
Pastor Paul Mackenzie, with other accused persons, is charged with the murder of 191 children in Shakahola.
Mackenzie has been dragged into the Bi Nzaro deaths through forensic evidence connecting the deaths to his teachings and activities.
Investigations shows that forensic evidence and protected witness statements had firmly linked the Kwa Bi Nzaro operation to Mackenzie and his inner circle. The evidence includes call data records, Mpesa transactions and corroborated accounts from accomplice witnesses.
Investigators say suspects including Temba , Garama, Mukonwe and James travelled across several counties mobilising former GNI followers and directing them to Kwa Bi Nzaro under the guise of prayers, a codename for enforced fasting to death.
Investigations show that former followers of the outlawed GNI were lured and confined in a homestead at Kwa Bi Nzaro and starved to death under the belief that they would ascend to heaven.
Police believe Temba, Garama, Mukonwe and James were part of an organised group that lured more than 40 GNI adherents from Kilifi, Busia, Siaya, Migori, Homa Bay and Kisii counties to fast to death under guard.
Residential houses at Kaoyeni Village in Malindi, Kilifi County, where the Kwa Bi Nzaro prime suspect Sharlyne Anindo Temba (inset) lived.
Investigations also show that Mackenzie remained in control of the group even while in custody at Shimo La Tewa Maximum Security Prison, where he is held over the Shakahola deaths of more than 450 followers.
Court filings indicate that he coordinated meetings, issued instructions through phone calls and addressed followers virtually, urging them to travel to Malindi and fast until death so that they could “meet Jesus”.
Police further allege that between January and July, Mackenzie contacted several former followers by phone, urging them to attend meetings in Busia, Migori and Malindi. During and after these meetings, he allegedly addressed them virtually and directed them to proceed to Malindi and begin fasting.
The cases will be mentioned on March 4.
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