Tag: Paul Mackenzie news

Paul Nthenge Mackenzie and thirty other individuals have been directed by the Malindi High Court to undergo a mental assessment within 14 days before the commencement of their murder trial.

Mackenzie and his co-accused have been in custody, accused of orchestrating the Shakahola massacre. The suspects have been held in Shimo Latewa, Kilifi, and Malindi prisons during the ongoing investigations.

The pastor and his fellow accused are facing five charges and ten counts related to murder, torture, assault, slaughter, and terrorism.

High Court Judge Thade Mugure has mandated that the suspects undergo a 14-day psychiatric evaluation. The court has also ruled that a bail hearing will be postponed until the accused can enter a plea.

The suspects will appear before the Mombasa, Shanzu, and Tononoka courts for separate hearings, scheduled to commence on February 6th of this year.

This decision comes in the wake of a court warning that it might release the preacher, emphasizing the need to bring the prolonged legal process to a conclusion.

The head of the Good News International Ministries religious doctrine and his co-accused were apprehended in connection with the deaths of over four hundred people associated with the religious doctrine.

Mackenzie, however, is serving a one-year sentence for operating a television station and engaging in filming activities without proper licensing.

The massacre came to light in the early weeks of April when a man reported to the police that his wife and daughter, who had joined the ministry in Kilifi County, did not return. Subsequent investigations uncovered shallow graves and emaciated individuals.

As a result of these revelations, an inquiry was initiated, and the pastor was identified as the mastermind, with congregation members stating that he ordered them to starve themselves for ‘redemption.’ Investigations have been ongoing since then.

A burial permit issued to one Evans Sirya on January 28, 2022 has revealed how Mackenzie was allowed to conduct burials for his murderous cult.

The burial permit, with serial number 1722406, bears the signature of the then Makongeni Sub Location Assistant Chief, Raymond Charo.

It seemed that you could get the burial permit after submitting a small letter explaining why you needed the permit and attaching a copy of your ID card.

In this case, Sylas Omondi Otieno had written a letter requesting a burial permit to bury his wife, Zilpha Adoyo Mwande.

Both Mr Otieno’s and Mrs Mwande’s national identity card numbers were listed in the letter and a copy of his card was attached.

On the same day, a burial permit was issued, stating: “Having duly ascertained the cause of death of the above deceased person, I hereby authorise the burial of the body,” and signed by Makongeni Sub-Location Assistant Chief Raymond on January 28, 2022.

However, Nation was able to trace the family of the deceased and Mrs Mwande’s mother was dead and had been buried over 15 months ago.

In an exclusive interview, Mrs Esther Anyango mentioned that she had no idea that her daughter had died or had even moved to Shakahola with her husband.

She had to travel from Kisumu to find out the truth.

After a thorough search of the house, she found the burial permit.

She is now seeking justice and does not know when she will see her son-in-law and grandchildren again.

A burial permit issued to one Evans Sirya on January 28, 2022 has revealed how Mackenzie was allowed to conduct burials for his murderous cult.

The burial permit, with serial number 1722406, bears the signature of the then Makongeni Sub Location Assistant Chief, Raymond Charo.

It seemed that you could get the burial permit after submitting a small letter explaining why you needed the permit and attaching a copy of your ID card.

In this case, Sylas Omondi Otieno had written a letter requesting a burial permit to bury his wife, Zilpha Adoyo Mwande.

Both Mr Otieno’s and Mrs Mwande’s national identity card numbers were listed in the letter and a copy of his card was attached.

On the same day, a burial permit was issued, stating: “Having duly ascertained the cause of death of the above deceased person, I hereby authorise the burial of the body,” and signed by Makongeni Sub-Location Assistant Chief Raymond on January 28, 2022.

However, Nation was able to trace the family of the deceased and Mrs Mwande’s mother was dead and had been buried over 15 months ago.

In an exclusive interview, Mrs Esther Anyango mentioned that she had no idea that her daughter had died or had even moved to Shakahola with her husband.

She had to travel from Kisumu to find out the truth.

After a thorough search of the house, she found the burial permit.

She is now seeking justice and does not know when she will see her son-in-law and grandchildren again.

Two lawyers representing cult leader Paul Mackenzie and 28 other suspects have requested to recuse themselves from the case, citing frustrations in trying to access the suspects and concerns about the fairness of the trial.

Lawyers George Kariuki and Elisha Komora said they have been unable to meet with their clients for several weeks, and that they have been threatened and harassed by unknown individuals. They also expressed concern that the suspects are being held in inhumane conditions, and that they may not receive a fair trial.

“With the challenges that the suspects are going through and the current circumstances, I feel my conscience is disturbed,” Kariuki said. “I am afraid that justice may not be served if I continue to represent them.”

The third lawyer representing the suspects, Wycliffe Makasembo, said he will continue to represent them. He said he believes that the suspects are being unfairly targeted by the government, and that he is committed to ensuring that they receive a fair trial.

“I feel there is an invisible hand trying to frustrate Mackenzie and others,” Makasembo said. “This hand is none other than the state. Personally, I will stick with Mackenzie and the others to death or when I will feel I have had enough and also run away.”

The case against Mackenzie and the other suspects is still in its early stages. It is unclear whether the court will grant the lawyers’ request to recuse themselves.

Interior CS Kithure Kindiki has disclosed that followers of Pastor Paul Mackenzie who altered their opinions once they began to hunger were slain.

Kindiki claimed that Mackenzie had employed armed thugs to keep an eye on the starved followers.

The supervisors would either strike them with a blunt object or strangle them to death if they changed their minds, he claimed.

The CS informed senators that while the majority of victims perished from malnutrition, a sizeable portion also did so through blunt object injuries or a lack of oxygen.

On Friday, Kindiki testified before the Senate Ad Hoc Committee on the Proliferation of Religious Organizations.

Since the horrifying cultic events were discovered on April 14, around 241 remains have been retrieved from shallow graves in the woodland.

On the first 112 bodies, autopsies revealed that the majority of the victims had died from malnutrition.

Kindiki added that his officers have located further mass graves.

“Satellite photos have revealed more mass graves exist. Ten mass graves are certain to exist, he said.

He expressed certainty that all bodies would be found and that those who were still alive would be saved. When everything is finished, Kenyans will be informed, he claimed.

“We will tell Kenyans the magnitude, the numbers, and all they need to know,” he continued.

It is 6am and the temperature in Shakahola township is approaching 27 degrees Celsius. Harry*, a local, is not bothered. For the last one month, he has been waking up at dawn and getting ready to head to Shakahola forest to help in the exhumation of bodies inside the forest.

In an exclusive interview with Nation Media Group, Harry reveals his first-hand experience.

“It is the first time for us locals to be part of such a traumatic exhumation exercise. We have never witnessed something like this,” says Harry.

Their day begins with a debrief from Homicide Director Martin Nyuguto, who is in charge of the exhumation operation.

Divided into three groups of 10 each, they are then dispatched to different sites where the graves have been previously marked. They have a daily target of exhuming at least 20 grave sites. He adds that they have been trained to carry out the job by forensic experts.

“Some parts are hard to dig, so we strategize. Other days, we hit the target early since you find one grave site with more than 10 bodies in it,” explains Harry.

He says they are paid Sh1,000 per day, which in his view is not commensurate with the work they are doing. They also want the government to fully employ them, saying that the team deserves decent-paying jobs.

“We ask that when any money comes out of the exercise, it should be given to our chairman. That way, it becomes easier for us to get hold of the funds donated,” says another digger.

The one month they have been at the crime scene has turned out to be a traumatic experience for them.

“At night, I find it hard to sleep. I see the bodies we have retrieved during the day in my dreams. We want counselling when the exercise is completed, but we are apprehensive that this might not happen,” says Harry.

He says Red Cross has offered them counselling as they conduct the exhumation, but they see it as unnecessary since the exercise is still ongoing.

So, how were they selected for the job? They say they had knowledge of where the grave sites might be located.

“We were friends with some of Mackenzie’s followers back then when they were still visiting the shopping centres, but when we got a tip that children were dying and being buried inside the forest, we mobilised ourselves and tried accessing the area. Unfortunately, our motorcycles were burnt down by the crooks in the cult,” says Tim*.

Yesterday, eight bodies were exhumed bringing the total deaths to 235. At the same time, four people— three females and one male adult—were rescued, with one of the females in critical condition. This brings the total number of those rescued to 89. There were no arrests.

Today, the Senate Ad hoc Committee on the Shakahola incident is expected to conduct a series of meetings in the area. It is trying to establish whether there were any security breaches in the area, which led to the deaths.

*Names have been changed to protect the identities of the individuals involved.