Controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie is set to be charged with the murder of victims from a second wave of cult related deaths that claimed more than 52 lives in Kwa Bi Nzaro Forest, Kilifi County.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) told the Malindi Court on Friday that it had analysed the evidence and resolved to charge Mackenzie alongside six alleged accomplices accused of extending the Shakahola fasting to death ritual to Kwa Bi Nzaro, a few kilometres from the original crime scene where more than 450 people died.
“We have analysed the evidence, all the suspects will face charges. One of the suspects we intend to charge is not before the court today, but we expect to charge them together. He is currently being held at Shimo La Tewa Prison,” the Prosecution told the court.
The ODPP explained that Mackenzie could not be presented in court to take plea because a production order had not been issued.
“Without a production order, it would not have been possible to have him in court today. We need to have Mackenzie and all the other suspects charged together,” the Prosecution said.
The State told the court that it required 14 days to make arrangements to have Mackenzie transferred to Malindi to face the charges.
“We are asking for a production order for Mackenzie so that the charges can be read out to him alongside the other suspects in court,” the Prosecution stated.
The court was further told that Mackenzie had been “juggling from one court to another”, making it difficult for prosecutors to apply for a production order earlier.
“The suspects cannot be released on bail. They will continue with fasting and radicalisation,” the Prosecution argued, adding that it was prudent to have all charges read out at once rather than in a piecemeal manner.
Through their lawyer, the suspects said they did not object to the issuance of a production order but questioned the delay by the ODPP.
“We do not object to a production order. However, we do not understand why the ODPP did not apply for one earlier,” the Defence said.
They also opposed any extension of the proposed 14 day period, arguing that the accused persons were innocent and were being unfairly held.
“These are innocent people being held in abeyance,” the defence submitted.
The court is expected to issue further orders on Monday on the ODPP’s application for 14 days to produce Mackenzie before the Malindi court for plea taking.
Mackenzie is to be charged alongside self styled priestess Sharleen Temba Anido, Kahindi Kazungu Garama, Thomas Mukonwe and James Kahindi Kazungu over the Kwa Bi Nzaro deaths.
Three additional suspects, Julius Thuva, Charles Mutua and Johnson Gona, were also added to the case. The three were arrested late last year and have been in custody for more than a month.
In court filings, lead investigator Oliver Nabwone detailed the progress made by investigators, stating that the State was now at the tail end of its probe into the Kwa Bi Nzaro cult deaths.
Nabwone told the court that for the cumulative 171 days previously granted for investigations, the State had made tremendous progress and was finalising the inquiry.
He said that in the last 60 days alone, investigators had traced and recorded statements from families in Migori, Siaya, Homa Bay, Nairobi and Busia counties whose relatives are missing and are reasonably believed to have travelled to Kwa Bi Nzaro for the enforced fasting ritual.
Investigators also conducted additional identification parades, undertook an assessment of the crime scene with the assistance of the Kenya Wildlife Service and apprehended more suspects who are currently in custody.
Kwa Binzaro prime suspect Sharlyne Anindo Temba (left) and Pastor Paul Mackenzie.
Photo credit: Kevin Odit | Nation Media Group
The officer further told the court that more DNA samples had been obtained from families whose relatives are missing and believed to have perished in the Kwa Bi Nzaro massacre, while investigators had also covered areas specifically directed by the DPP after reviewing preliminary findings.
However, Nabwone noted that despite the investigations being at an advanced stage, DNA sampling and analysis of body remains was still ongoing at the Government Chemist and that more suspects linked to the case were still at large.
He said the evidence gathered so far against Anido, Garama, James and Mukonwe was overwhelming, and investigators had recommended to the DPP that they be charged with offences including murder, radicalisation, manslaughter and engaging in organised criminal activities.
Nabwone maintained that the compelling reasons which led the court to allow continued detention of the suspects still existed, arguing that there had been no change in circumstances to warrant their release on bail or bond.
“In view of the foregoing, I pray that the four continue to be detained at Malindi GK Main and Women Prisons for a further 14 days to enable the production of Mackenzie for plea taking,” Nabwone stated.
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.
The death toll at Kwa Bi Nzaro now stands at 52 after detectives completed a forensic association exercise on human remains recovered during exhumations.
According to court documents filed by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, experts analysed and matched 102 mixed human remains, confirming 18 additional victims beyond the 32 bodies initially exhumed in August.
Investigators told the Malindi court 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 Anido, 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 the four suspects 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.
Crucially, detectives say 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.
Post mortem examinations on all 52 bodies have been completed, with preliminary findings indicating that while many victims died from starvation, some suffered blunt force trauma.
DNA profiling, toxicology analysis and forensic examination of electronic and religious materials are ongoing.
Investigators further allege that the group deliberately altered burial methods to defeat forensic identification after studying earlier Government Chemist reports in related cases.
They buried bodies in shallow graves, leaving some naked, exposing others to scavengers and wild animals, and accelerating decomposition to destroy evidence.
Detectives say these findings underpin the decision by the ODPP to charge Mackenzie jointly with his alleged accomplices over the Kwa Bi Nzaro deaths, marking what prosecutors describe as a second wave of murders linked to the Shakahola cult network.
