Shakahola trial: Had I listened to my sister, my wife and child would still be alive, says witness
Suspected Kilifi cult leader Paul Mackenzie (right) and his accomplices at Shanzu Law Court in Mombasa County on July 10, 2024.
"I wish I had heeded my sister's advice not to return to Shakahola forest; [if I had] my child and wife would not have died of starvation there"... These were the words of a protected witness, as he told the Shanzu court how his one-and-a-half-year-old child starved to death in the forest between March and April of last year.
The witness was a member of the Good News International Church, which is linked to Kilifi sect leader Paul Mackenzie, who is being prosecuted for the deaths of more than 429 members of his church.
The witness moved into the forest with his pregnant wife in August 2021.
During or before this time, he says life in the forest was relatively good, as he was able to run errands to earn a living.
While in the forest, prayer meetings were not held daily, but only twice a month.
“During these prayer meetings, Mackenzie reminded us that he had already finished preaching on earth because he had already delivered the message of these being the end-times as Jesus had instructed him through Holy Spirit. He frequently reminded us that we were in the end-times and so we should cleanse ourselves by praying a lot, fasting regularly and not to get immersed in worldly things but to be guided by the Holy Spirit,” the witness told the court.
During one of these prayer meetings, the witness said, Mackenzie forbade communication with outsiders, forbade leaving the forest without his permission, and demanded that any outsider entering the forest seek permission from the cult leader.
In January 2023, the witness reported that Mackenzie told his followers that the end times had arrived and that Jesus was continuing to take His Holy Church.
Mackenzie then read from Matthew 24:22 and Romans 12:1 to support his call for his followers to fast.
"Mackenzie told us in the meeting that the meaning of the shortening of the days was that we now had to die individually and go to heaven. He also told us to fast by not eating or drinking anything, just praying until we die for our own good. He explained to us that the second Bible verse meant that we should sacrifice our bodies so that we would die purified," the witness said during cross-examination by prosecutors Jami Yamina, Victor Owiti, Anthony Musyoka and Ogega Bosibori.
During his stay in the Shakahola forest, the court heard that Mackenzie referred to his followers as the anointed of Christ, while labelling outsiders as outcasts or non-believers who should not be associated with.
During this announcement it was made clear that children were to begin the fast, followed by young people, women and men, although participation was initially voluntary.
After hearing this announcement, the witness left the forest on January 20, 2023 and travelled back home with his wife and child after receiving permission from Mackenzie.
On arriving home, he recounted the challenges they had faced in the forest, including lack of food, water and employment due to the conditions imposed by Mackenzie.
His sister then urged them not to return to Mackenzie, but they decided to return to the forest after he consulted with his wife, who mentioned that relocation would be costly as they had already built a house and settled there.
“I truly wished that I had heeded my sister’s advice and remained with my family in our rural home, they would not have died in the forest,” the witness told Senior Principal Magistrate Leah Juma, breaking down.
The witness said many children died between January and February 2023 after the fasting rules were changed from voluntary to compulsory. He attended the funerals of these children, which were presided over by Mackenzie. Each household was then instructed to prepare for the death of their family members.
Although other children were dying, he and his wife kept their child from starving by feeding him.
But in March, he said, his wife was asked why their child was still healthy and the only one alive.
“I was also asked the same question by elderly men on several occasions, including when we were digging graves for the departed, about why I had not placed my child on the fasting programme,” he said under cross-examination by Mackenzie's lawyer Lawrence Obonyo.
He mentioned that he could not flee due to fear and a lack of money for transport.
“My wife and I decided to deprive our daughter of food and water until she died after 15 days. My wife followed suit after starving for 10 days in a makeshift tent where she had relocated to,” he said.
The witness explained that his wife moved to the makeshift tent far from their house because one of Mackenzie’s right-hand men had instructed fasting followers to retreat deep into the forest to avoid being found by the police, who had begun searching the area with families looking for their loved ones.
The makeshift tents consisted of polythene sheets spread on the ground with a mat on top to keep out the cold and water. Children and young people who refused to fast were also confined to these structures under the close supervision of gravediggers who acted as security guards armed with clubs and sticks.
These men told the starving children to share their pain with Jesus even as they ate.
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He also began fasting after burying his wife, but occasionally broke his fast. He told the court that before he started fasting, his job was to transport the bodies of those who had died in makeshift tents to burial sites. He had a motorcycle which he used for this work.
“Burials were typically conducted either very early in the morning or in the evening to avoid drawing the attention of the herders,” he said.
When he had carried enough corpses, he would begin the fast again, but would occasionally break it by consuming honey and water after fasting for four or five days.
This trend of surviving on honey and water continued until his arrest. He is a key witness who not only ferried believers into the forest to buy land from Mackenzie and settle, but also transported bodies to burial sites and participated in grave digging.
“I had gone to the forest due to the allure of inexpensive arable land, which I bought from Mackenzie for Sh1,000. He intensified his end-time preaching and I trusted him as a servant of God, believing he had been sent by Jesus,” he said.
The hearing continues.
