It is now emerging that the victims of the Shakahola massacre went through a harrowing experience in their quest for salvation and life after death.
In the ongoing court hearing, evidence presented on the activities of the cult led by Paul Mackenzie shows that followers were tied with ropes during the enforcement of the lethal fast.
Thereafter, they were put inside their graves where they were ultimately interred after taking their last breaths.
A video recording of the exhumation exercise played in court on Monday revealed that those who buried the Good News International Church followers ensured they would not escape even in death.
The footage showed the bodies wrapped in white sheets, with the leg and neck areas bound with ropes. Others were wrapped in blankets and green polythene bags.
“I have never seen anything like this before,” said Police Constable Bernard Jefwa.
His evidence lends some credence to earlier police statements that there were torture chambers within the forest.
The police stated that during the search and rescue mission, some victims were found naked, with their legs bound together using head scarves.
While the videos were being shown to the court, Mackenzie keenly followed along before standing up from his seat to whisper something to his advocate, Lawrence Obonyo.
When he returned to his seat, he bowed his head for a moment as if in deep thought before lifting it again to observe the footage of dead bodies being extracted from the graves, his left hand frequently resting on his chin.
Some of the suspects surprisingly smiled as the footage was shown, while others appeared shocked, their hands resting on their chins, perhaps coming to terms with the gravity of what they were being prosecuted for.
Another group of suspects could be seen whispering to one another before bursting into laughter. It was unclear what amused them.
While being led in his evidence by State prosecutors Jami Yamina, Ogega Bosibori and Antony Musyoka, Mr Jefwa told the court that he was called on April 17, 2023 and instructed to join his colleagues in Shakahola to exhume bodies. Upon arrival, an escapee led them to where the bodies of two children had been buried.
“There were signs of disturbed ground, but we did not find bodies here; they had been exhumed and buried somewhere else in an attempt to conceal evidence. We finally found the grave and exhumed two bodies,” he said, adding that more exhumations took place at Kwa Mugambi within the Shakahola forest.
“When we arrived, the mission shifted from exhumation to search and rescue and grave identification. We encountered individuals who seemed weak and were requesting water,” he said.
In this case, Mackenzie, his wife Rhoda Mumbua Maweu and 93 others have denied four terror related offenses. Mackenzie, Ms Maweu, Smart Mwakalama and his wife Mary Kadzo Kahindi and 28 others have been accused of engaging in organised criminal activity thereby endangering lives and leading to the death of 429 members and followers.
They have also been charged with radicalisation, with the State accusing the suspects of promoting an extreme belief system for the purpose of facilitating ideologically based violence — fasting to death.
Mackenzie and his wife have been additionally charged with the offence of being in possession of compact discs, DVDs, books and pamphlets for use in instigating the commission of a terrorist act.
