Witnesses and phones reveal horror of Shakahola massacre

Smart Mwakalama and cult leader Paul Mackenzie in Tononoka Children's Court./CHARLES MGHENYI

The Tononoka Children’s Court in Mombasa on Friday heard harrowing details linking cult leader Paul Mackenzie’s teachings to the starvation deaths in Shakahola Forest.

Forensic evidence and eyewitness testimonies painted a chilling picture of radical indoctrination that led to deaths intended to hasten the victims’ way to heaven. Graves came to light in 2023.

Chief inspector Joseph Kolum, a senior digital forensics investigator and the 65th prosecution witness, presented a 74,658-page report generated from two mobile phones allegedly belonging to Mackenzie—a Nokia and an Itel.

The analysis, conducted using the Universal Forensic Extraction Device (UFED), uncovered thousands of WhatsApp conversations, PDF documents, audio sermons, and YouTube links containing apocalyptic teachings after closure of Mackenzie’s Malindi-based Furunzi Good News International (GNI) Church.

The data revealed persistent themes of fasting, prophecy, the Anti-Christ, the New World Order, and the number 666, known as the “Number of the Beast” in Revelation

Mackenzie repeatedly instructed his followers to abandon their homes and join him in the Shakahola wilderness, which he described as the new “church” and the chosen place to await the return of Christ and the end of the world, the court was told.

Mackenzie and 35 co-accused face charges of cruelty, torture and denial of education to children in connection with the Shakahola massacre.

“Messages dating back to 2020 showed Mackenzie claiming his mission was complete and urged his followers to relocate to Shakahola urgently,” chief inspector Kolum testified.

Conversations from 2022 and 2023 captured followers seeking guidance on when to move, while Mackenzie issued strict orders to withdraw children from school, shun hospitals, and reject formal employment, he said.

One woman reported her child allegedly suffered spiritual attacks when wearing a school uniform, and Mackenzie advised her to stop sending the child to school, Kolum said.

Mackenzie also sent WhatsApp messages encouraging mothers not to take their sick children to hospitals for treatment, he testified.

The forensic officer also told the court that followers pledged to send money to Mackenzie for the purchase of land at Shakahola, where they would settle and fast.

At the same time, a grieving 60-year-old Titus Gandi gave a devastating personal account of how Mackenzie’s cult wiped out nearly his entire family.

Gandi, the 61st prosecution witness, recounted losing 12 relatives, including his wife, two sons, their wives and grandchildren.

His wife, Easter Masha, was the first to embrace Mackenzie’s teachings, luring their sons Harry and Isaack into the sect.

Both men abandoned their livelihoods and took their families to Shakahola.

Harry, his wife, and their five children all perished.

Isaack, a former GSU officer, resigned from the force after Mackenzie preached that salaried work was evil.

His wife, a teacher, also quit her government job.

Together with their three children, they relocated to Shakahola where Isaack, his wife, and two of the children died.

Only one child survived and now is being raised by Gandi.

“My life was ruined,” Gandi told principal magistrate Nelly Chepchirchir, recalling how he managed to bury only two of the 12 relatives he lost.

“I pray for justice for myself and my grandson. This church destroyed my family and misled society by teaching that education and work were evil,” he testified.

He described the surviving boy as “the flower of my eyes”.

He recounted his last meal with his wife before she disappeared into Shakahola, never to return. DNA tests later confirmed the remains of some of his loved ones, while one grandson remains unaccounted for.

Gandi identified other cult members, including Smart Mwakalama and Evans Sirya,and urged the court to dispense justice swiftly.

The hearing continues from September 16 to 19.

Instant analysis

The Shakahola massacre trial reveals the devastating intersection of radical indoctrination and blind faith. Forensic evidence from Mackenzie’s phones shows systematic manipulation of followers through apocalyptic teachings, reinforcing anti-education, anti-healthcare, and anti-employment doctrines in an end-of-the-world context.