Shakahola Massacre Trial: Protected Witnesses Reveal Shocking Secrets About Pastor Paul Mackenzie’s Cult

Protected witnesses on Monday shared chilling testimonies in the ongoing murder trial of controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie and his 29 co-accused. The trial, held at the Mombasa High Court before Lady Justice Diana Kavedza, is linked to the Shakahola Forest massacre, where more than 400 people tragically died.

Inside Mackenzie’s Good News International Church

Three witnesses – a 19-year-old man, a 10-year-old boy, and an 18-year-old man – described horrifying details of life inside Mackenzie’s Good News

International Church.

One witness, identified as O.H. alias P.P., told the court that he and his parents were forced to abandon Islam and convert to Christianity to join the Makongeni branch of Mackenzie’s church in Nairobi.

He recalled watching sermons distributed through CDs and memory verses. According to P.P., Mackenzie strongly condemned formal education, modern medicine, and even the Huduma Number registration, calling it the “mark of the beast.”

Deadly Fasting Rituals

P.P. testified that Mackenzie instructed followers to fast to death in stages. The disturbing order began with children first, followed by women, then the elderly, and finally Mackenzie himself. Followers were promised that Jesus awaited them in the afterlife.

He also revealed that burials were referred to as “weddings.” Dead children were said to have “wedded Jesus,” as followers clapped and sang hymns during the ritual.

10-Year-Old Witness Shares Tragic Loss

The second witness, a 10-year-old boy identified as E.G.W., recounted how his father took him to Shakahola, where they lived in an area called “Bethlehem.”

He told the court about the deaths of two of his siblings and revealed the special “death clothes” he was instructed to wear: a turquoise shirt and white trousers. DNA-supported post-mortem reports later confirmed the deaths of his mother and brother.

Escape from Shakahola Massacre

The third witness, J.N.K., shared how his mother pulled him out of school after watching Mackenzie’s sermons, which dismissed both education and medicine as sinful.

He eventually reunited with his mother and four siblings in Shakahola, where he also witnessed burials disguised as “weddings.”

J.N.K. managed to escape the cult after being locked in a house for a week without food. He fled on a bicycle to Kakuyuni village, where he was later rescued and taken to a children’s home and hospital.

Accused Linked to Burials and Rituals

All three witnesses identified several of the accused in court, linking them to grave digging, gatherings, and ritual activities within the Shakahola forest.