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Why State wants to re-open Shakahola murder trial against Mackenzie
Pastor Paul Mackenzie, with other accused persons, is charged with the murder of 191 children in Shakahola.
What you need to know:
- The prosecution is asking the court to reopen its case to allow the suspects to interrogate Enos Amanya Ngala, who pleaded guilty.
- According to the defence, reopening the case would not serve the interests of the accused persons, who did not plead guilty to the charges.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) wants the High Court to reopen the criminal trial against controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie and his co-accused in the Shakahola massacre, where they face murder charges relating to the deaths of 191 children.
In a fresh application filed before the High Court in Mombasa, the prosecution is asking the court to reopen its case to allow the suspects to interrogate Enos Amanya Ngala, who pleaded guilty to the charges earlier this year, on the contents of his confession, particularly the sections that implicate them in the deaths.
Amanya, who served as head of security at the Shakahola forest, recorded a detailed confession describing his role and that of other accused persons in the killings that occurred between 2021 and 2023.
The prosecution says the actions detailed in the confession, which was adopted as evidence in court, led to the deaths of more than 450 members of the outlawed Good News International Church.
The confession was recorded on January 16, 2025, after the trial judge revealed that she had informally received documents from Amanya whose contents amounted to a confession.
Read: Shakahola confessions: Suspect who pleaded guilty details torture, starvation that killed over 400
“It is evident that Amanya not only incriminated himself in the confession but also highly implicated the rest of the accused persons,” the prosecution said.
The State explained that although the confession was properly produced in court and admitted into evidence, the prosecution closed its case against the remaining accused persons without giving them an opportunity to cross examine Amanya on the incriminating portions of the statement.
“In what is an apparent procedural misstep, the prosecution closed its case without the rest of the accused persons having had an opportunity to interrogate Amanya on the contents of the confession,” the prosecution said.
The ODPP noted that the court is legally entitled to rely on Amanya’s confession not only against him but also against his co- accused, raising serious fair trial concerns if the confession remains untested.
“The law and the rules of natural justice demand, and it is only fair, that the rest of the accused persons be allowed the opportunity to question Amanya on the contents of the confession,” the prosecution said, adding that failure to do so could have grave consequences, including rendering the entire trial a mistrial.
Enos Amanya alias Haleluyah, one of Paul Mackenzie's co-accused person, in court on January 16, 2026.
The prosecution maintained that the application had been made purely in the interest of justice and that none of the accused persons would suffer prejudice if the case was reopened.
“The application is solely intended to protect the accused persons’ right to a fair trial, more specifically their right to challenge the incriminating evidence against them,” the prosecution said.
However, the defence opposed the attempt to reopen the case, arguing that they were satisfied with the manner in which the prosecution handled Amanya’s confession.
According to the defence, reopening the case would not serve the interests of the accused persons, who did not plead guilty to the charges.
“We strongly oppose any move to reopen the case. As far as the defence is concerned, the prosecution did its best and we are satisfied for the case to remain closed,” the suspects said through their advocate.
The defence further argued that Amanya’s confession only incriminated himself and did not implicate the other accused persons, adding that reopening the case would prejudice them.
Mackenzie and 31 others are facing 191 murder counts arising from the deaths of more than 450 members of the outlawed Good News International Church who died through starvation and other causes in the Shakahola forest.
In his confession, the 51 year old detailed how he encountered Mackenzie’s church, a journey that led him to abandon his evangelical church before relocating from Nairobi to Malindi and later to Shakahola forest, where he lost six of his seven children.
He said coded language was deliberately used to normalise death and strip it of its horror. Bodies were referred to as fertiliser, burials as planting and death as taking a jet to meet Jesus, while followers were required to respond "Amina" to affirm the teachings.
He confessed that food was declared evil and that mass graves were dug as deaths increased.
