Before March 2023 the name Shakahola was unknown to many.
For those who knew it, as Shanzu Senior Principal Magistrate Yusuf Abdallah observed, Shakahola was just a forest area within the larger Chakama Ranch in Kilifi County.
But an incident in mid-March, 2023, would expose the horror that was unfolding deep into this forest.
Two boys had starved to death in Kilifi after their parents locked them in a room to fast “supposedly saving them from an imminent painful death of children in the world.”
The bodies of the two minors were exhumed. And then the dark secrets of Shakahola- which quickly gained national and international infamy- began to unravel.
Bodies turned up in their hundreds, and soon the shocking activities of a cult whose leader, Paul Mackenzie, was accused of brainwashing victims to starve themselves to death emerged.
Pastor Mackenzie, who founded Good News International Ministries in 2003 and relocated the ministry in 2019 to Shakahola ranch is now among 31 accused persons charged with 191 counts of murder.
Two years after the Shakahola massacre, over 800km from the forested mass graves, another eerily chilling saga is unfolding in Migori, and, like Shakahola, the discovery of two deaths has got the attention of authorities.
The sign board at Malkio St Joseph Mission of Messiah in Africa Church in Opapo village in Migori bears the writings; 'Welcome to new Jerusalem kimpontate kwinanelimonatiriyo alleluaya’ .
In Christian teachings, the New Jerusalem is a symbolic city that represents God’s dwelling place.
The family of a GSU officer who died and was buried in a church compound seek help from the Office of the Deputy County Commissioner in Rongo, Migori County, on April 11, 2025.
Photo credit: George Odiwuor | Nation
In the teachings, it is a restored and transformed world with peace, joy and eternal life.
At Malkio St Joseph Mission of Messiah in Africa Church, the representation of the New Jerusalem is ironic going by the recent happenings there.
Two mysterious deaths of people believed to be adherents of the church are the subject of police investigations to establish their causes.
A police incident report seen by Daily Nation said two people died at the church under suspicious circumstances, prompting a raid on Monday night that led to the 'rescue' of 57 people who had turned the place into their home.
The sub-county security and intelligence committee in Rongo which moved to the scene found the body of a man identified as Francis Muli lying on the floor of a prayer room within the church compound.
The body was fully covered in a white robe and wrapped in a grey sheet. Upon scrutiny, detectives discovered that the man had some visible injuries on the face and had foamed in the mouth.
Earlier in the day, Elly Odoyo’s body was recovered from the same place.
Rongo Deputy County Commissioner George Matundura said his office was on Monday alerted that the church accommodates people who are ailing.
When police stormed the place, some were found to be having injuries, probably sustained during a confrontation on April 11.
"We will plan a way forward and take the necessary action. We have deployed a group of officers to the church to secure it," Mr Matundura said.
According to the administrator, two people from the church died on Sunday.
It is, however, not clear what killed them.
Among the questionable occurrences detectives would want to unravel are illegal burials which have taken place at the church.
It is reported that the church has more than 100 people living within the fortified compound with each individual assigned a specific role to play.
John Wachara was once a devoted member of Malkio St Joseph Mission of Messiah in Africa Church in Opapo village in Migori for several years until 2010 when he started questioning some of the teachings.
Then working as a driver at the former Nyanza Provincial Hospital, now Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital, in Kisumu, Mr Wachara would travel to his home in Kamkuyu Sub location every weekend to spend his Sundays at the church.
He said his family of five children would also go there and take part in the weekend prayer service.
However, one day he just decided to stop worshipping at the church citing what he considered to be radicalisation.
Sometime in 2004, his 19-year-old daughter relocated to the church after dropping out of school. She would later die while at the church and Mr Wachara believes her body was buried within the church's compound.
Six years later, his wife also deserted her matrimonial home and moved to the same church.
Members of the public on April 11, 2025 confront members of St Joseph Mission of Messiah in Africa Church in Opapo Village in Rongo, Migori County.
Photo credit: George Odiwuor | Nation Media Group
"She tagged along two other girls with her. One was in Form Four and struggled to complete her secondary school education after moving to the church," Mr Wachara said.
He suspects that his estranged wife was radicalised during some sessions she used to attend at the church every Thursday while he was away at work in Kisumu.
"I also know of men from my village whose wives left home to go to the church. They tried following them to take them back home but the women refused," he claimed.
Mr Wachara said for a whole year he made frantic attempts to persuade his wife and daughters to return home but they declined. Instead, the woman moved to court and filed for divorce.
"I was in a lot of emotional pain when my ex-wife and daughters left me. I got into a new relationship and healed," he said.
For a decade, he would get information on the condition of her daughters through their brothers who would sometimes visit them at the church.
On the afternoon of Tuesday, April 22, Mr Wachara walked to Kamagambo Police Station in Rongo Town when he learnt that his ex-wife and daughters had been arrested.
"I was hoping to catch a glimpse of them," he said.
This was after he heard the news that two members of Malkio St Joseph Mission of Messiah in Africa had died within the church compound under unclear circumstances.
Mr Wachara was, however, informed by the police that he could not see his children due to the sensitivity of the matter.
"I am willing to accept them back. They are my children and are free to live with me," he said.
Two weeks ago, a police officer died at the church and was hurriedly buried within the church compound without the knowledge of relatives. This incident is linked to the subsequent death of Odoyo.
CS Murkomen makes rare admission of State, NIS failures over Shakahola deaths
Odoyo is reported to have died on Sunday evening after developing complications on his head following an injury he allegedly sustained during a confrontation with members of the public on April 11.
Witnesses claimed Odoyo was hit with a rock when a group of people stormed the church to forcefully exhume the body of Dan Obura, a General Service Unit (GSU) officer who had died and been buried within the church compound.
Odoyo's daughter, Jecinter Achieng’, who is also a member of St Joseph Mission of Messiah in Africa Church, said her father's wish was that he be buried in the same place just like Obura.
"Instead, his brothers forcefully took the body away which is in contravention of what he noted down in his will," she claimed.
Before April 11, Mr Odoyo, who is said to have lived within the compound for more than 10 years, was in sound health and went about his normal duties at the church.
However, during the day, he was caught up in a fight between the paternal family of Obura which wanted the body of their kin exhumed from the church compound and buried at his parents’ home in Nyando in Kisumu County.
"Police officers who were deployed to the church to restore order are reported to have urged Odoyo to seek treatment at the hospital but he declined saying that faith could not allow him," explained Ms Achieng’.
Some Christians at St Joseph Mission of Messiah in Africa Church said Odoyo could be seen walking within the church compound with no indication that he was in pain.
But strangely he called his daughter and instructed her not to allow anyone to take his body out of the church compound after his death.
"He wanted his body to be buried within the church compound. He was working for the church and wanted his body to remain there," said Ms Achieng.
The family of a GSU officer who died and was buried in a church compound seek help from the Office of the Deputy County Commissioner in Rongo, Migori County, on April 11, 2025.
Photo credit: George Odiwuor | Nation Media Group
"He wanted to talk to his brothers before he died. But my uncles arrived late when he had already passed on," she said.
A member of the church who only identified herself as Hallelujah said the church always reports to the authorities cases that may require government attention including deaths within the compound.
She gave an example of the death of Obura which she said was reported and a burial permit was obtained allowing the church to bury him within the compound.
"We cannot bury a body without informing the family of the deceased about the death. We also inform authorities of the same," the church member told journalists.
According to her, members of the church strongly believe in life after death with most of them wishing to be buried within the church.
Some of them have made the place of worship their home and have asked the congregation to bury them within the compound after they die.
"We do not have a mortuary so when someone dies, their next of kin are immediately notified and the burial takes place within 12 to 24 hours. Family members are asked to witness the interment," the church member said.
The family of Obura is also exploring the judicial process to have the body of their kin exhumed from the church compound and moved to Kisumu County.
“They can continue sharing the teachings they got if they stay together. They should be separated or else they will be like their parents,” she said.
The children's services officer told Daily Nation that minors raised in such an environment may end up losing their identity as some were brought up believing the church is their home.
“We have established that they were going to school. They were just not going to the hospital,” she said.
Members of the public try to force their way into St Joseph Mission of Messiah in Africa Church in Opapo Village in Rongo, Migori County on April 11, 2025. The body of a GSU officer was buried within the church compound.
Photo credit: George Odiwuor | Nation
All the women at the church identify themselves as Hallelujah and are not at ease sharing information about what usually goes on when they are within the church compound.
While being rescued on Monday, the 57 individuals were first taken to Rongo Sub-County Hospital for medical attention but they refused to be examined by the medical officers.
"They began singing religious songs in front of the medical personnel," the police report said.
Health workers advised that the group should be removed from the hospital as they were disturbing other patients at the health facility.
