Pastor Paul Mackenzie (right) with his co-accused in a Mombasa court on October 8, 2025. They are charged with the murder of 191 Children in the Shakahola Massacre.
Should officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations start attending court hearings, or perhaps even Sunday sermons, to arrest those confessing to crimes while seeking salvation? That question lingered in the air after a witness in the ongoing Shakahola trials confessed to having stolen from the National Treasury.
Vivian Malegua, as she introduced herself before Mombasa High Court Judge Diana Kavedza, said she was a follower of preacher Paul Mackenzie. She said she quit her job in the national government to “stop sinning”.
Justice Diana Kavedza Mochache at the High Court in Mombasa on October 6, 2025 during the hearing of a case in which Pastor Paul Mackenzie and is co-accused are charged with the murder of 191 Children in the Shakahola Massacre.
Ms Malegua said she was stealing while working as an accountant at the Voi District Treasury under the national government until Mackenzie preached that certain jobs lead people to sin. To repent, she resigned.
While making the revelations that stunned the courtroom, she appeared at peace with her decision, testifying that her conscience could no longer bear the burden of being a “thief” after a powerful sermon by the doomsday preacher.
They were taught that some jobs are contrary to God’s plan, so they should quit those that tempt believers to sin.
“As an accountant I became a thief. I decided to resign because Jesus cannot give me a job that would make me a thief. I am currently doing small businesses and casual jobs,” she told the judge under the guidance of Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Jami Yamina.
Ms Malegua told the court that she first learnt about the Good News International Church (GNI) when she visited her family in Malindi.
“I joined the church on my own, without an invitation from anyone. The church was very close to where I lived in Furunzi. There were many preachers, but the lead pastor was Mackenzie. I was a congregant for about five years,” she said.
Ms Malegua added that she had no children and that members were taught that education, medicine, and beauty enhancements were contrary to the teachings of Jesus Christ. She still upholds some of those beliefs.
“Decorations are not part of Jesus’ plan that is why my hair is natural. I dress modestly as per the teachings of Jesus Christ. I also believe formal education and medical treatment are contrary to GNI teachings,” she said.
Pastor Paul Mackenzie (right) with his co-accused in a Mombasa court on October 8, 2025. They are charged with the murder of 191 Children in the Shakahola Massacre.
Ms Malegua joined the church in December 2012 and remained a member until December 2019.
“I attended several seminars. We were told the church was going to the wilderness, meaning we would no longer attend physical churches,” she explained.
Ms Malegua testified that she personally interacted with Mackenzie, who prayed for her when she had problems, describing their relationship as that of a pastor and his worshipper.
“The last time I took drugs was in 2014, and that was the last time I ever fell sick. I had high blood pressure and other diseases, which I cannot disclose. He prayed for me, and I was healed,” she said.
She also recounted visiting her friend, Everlyn Mwangoji, in Shakahola. Ms Mwangoji had moved there with her five children aged 12, 10, 8, 6 ad 5.
“I was happy to meet my friend and her children. She told me they had decided to stay in the forest and wait for Jesus. My understanding was that Jesus was coming for us,” she said.
Her last contact with Ms Mwangoji was in April 2023, shortly after news of the Shakahola massacre broke.
“She told me things were not okay because they had been ambushed by government officials and had moved deeper into the forest to hide. When we last spoke, she said it was raining, there was no food, and she could no longer charge her phone. That was our last conversation,” she said.
Ms Malegua said she was deeply affected by her friend’s disappearance. “If they all died, I would love to know what happened to them,” she added.
Defence lawyer Lawrence Obonyo cross examines a witness at the High Court in Mombasa on October 8, 2025 during the hearing of a case in which Pastor Paul Mackenzie and his co-accused are charged with the murder of 191 Children in the Shakahola Massacre.
During cross-examination by Mackenzie’s lawyer, Lawrence Obonyo, she insisted that her faith was personal.
“No one forced me. I am [no longer] a member of GNI; the church closed long ago. But I am a chosen one, a saint. When the church closed, Mackenzie told us to hold on to our faith,” she said.
Ms Malegua admitted, however, that many who did not agree with Mackenzie’s teachings left the church.
Her confessions about being “a thief” left the court torn between admiration for her conviction and curiosity about how deep such confessions might go. Not long ago, another follower took the stand and calmly admitted that he too used to be a thief, only that his loot of choice was guns.
“That was my past. I reformed before joining the church,” the witness said with a broad grin, as if casually announcing that he once collected stamps.
For Tanzanian national Ernest Vedasto Mwombeki, Mackenzie is to blame for his broken marriage after the cleric allegedly aided his wife’s escape to Mbeya in Tanzania and later to Shakahola forest, where she vanished with their three children.
“The fights I used to have with my wife were because of her attending Mackenzie’s church and seminars. I was totally against it,” he told the court.
His wife, Judith Assery Mwandary, fled their home in Arusha on February 28, 2022 with their three sons aged 10, 7 and 2. Mr Mwombeki reported the disappearance to the school and the police the next day and began searching for them in vain.
On August 25, 2022, his wife contacted him via a Kenyan number, asking for money for food. He sent it, and from then on, she kept requesting for money for upkeep and transport, saying she wanted to return home after revealing she was in Kilifi. He continued sending her money, but she never came back despite his pleas.
On January 31, 2023, they spoke again, and he also talked to the children. Two days later, she asked for more money to buy soap and water to prepare for the journey home, which he sent. “We agreed that I would travel to Kilifi after two days, on February 4,” he said.
However, on that day, Ms Mwandary called again, saying a police officer from the chief’s office had detained her over a debt owed to women from a savings group. She pleaded for help, and he cleared the Sh3,300 debt through a number belonging to one Samuel Ocheya at around 1.54pm.
That evening, she confirmed receiving the money, and they agreed he would travel to Kilifi.
“But later at 9pm, she called again using the same number, asking me not to travel yet and to let her settle things first. I insisted on coming and asked her to prepare the children. She said she would not receive me in person. I later sent her a text message saying I would not send her any more money. That was the last time we spoke, on February 4, 2023,” he said.
Mr Mwombeki travelled to Kilifi two days later, reported the matter at Kilifi Central Police Station and was referred to the Children’s Office. He was then advised to contact local authorities and was told about Mackenzie of Chakama, whose followers held strange beliefs.
At Chakama, he met the chief and a Mackenzie follower named Steve, who showed him around and promised to help him find his family. Later, the chief sent photos of two children found in Shakahola, but they were not his.
When Mr Mwombeki contacted Steve again, he confirmed that his wife and children had been in the area, but he could not tell where they were. Later, he saw the tragedy in Shakahola on television, which confirmed his fears after the Chakama chief had contacted him to say that the situation had worsened.
The witnesses were testifying in a case in which Mackenzie and 30 accomplices are accused of murdering 191 children in Shakahola forest between 2021 and 2023.
