Chilling testimonies from two brothers over the missing of their parents in the Shakahola deaths

BY ERIC ABUGA

Two Jimmy and Samuel Mganga have told Shanzu Law Courts of how their parents and three sisters went missing after traveling to Shakahola.

They narrated to the court how their father used to keep records of activities in Shakahola, some of which painted the picture of the atrocities that the pastor Paul Mackenzie's followers went through in Shakahola Forest.

These records documented church activities, a list of people who had died from 2021 to 2023, his personal reflection on dreams, forgiveness with his family, and advice to his sons.

Samuel Mganga told the court that his mother handed over numerous books authored by his father containing the records of activities in Shakahola. 

“In his writings, he advised me to work hard in farming and, when the time came, to marry from the Mijikenda community,” he said.

Jimmy Mganga, on his part, recollected how his father, who had built a branch of the Good News International Ministry in their home, had stopped sending two of his siblings to school.

When he realized that his two siblings weren't going to school, he reported the matter to the Ministry of Education, and his father was arrested and charged in Malindi Court. He was later released on a Sh 10,000 bond.

He added that Mackenzie paid the bond, and after his release, the family turned against him, accusing him of trying to imprison his father.

The court also heard from Inspector Kennedy Njuguna and Chief Inspector Dominic Katisya, who told how they were notified that people who were followers of Pastor Mackenzie were fasting to death in Shakahola Forest.

The two participated in a fact-finding mission on the allegation of fasting to death. Inspector Njuguna told the court that due to the extent of the operation, there was a need to establish a camp within the company to ease the operation.

He told the court that he was tasked to be in charge of the camp with the responsibility of searching the area and rescuing the victims, identifying graves, and recovering materials necessary for investigation.

He informed the court that he was involved in the rescue of a total of 95 victims from the Shakahola; some were starved, and others were healthy.

Those in critical condition would be taken to the hospital for treatment. During the rescue, he indicated that he didn't know the victims and the suspects.
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n the other hand, Chief Inspector Dominic Katisya was the Directorate of Criminal Investigations representative in the multi-agency command centre within Shakahola enabling the rescue of 107 people and the arrest of 21 people.

The court, through Principal Magistrate Leah Juma, heard that on the first day of the rescue, they rescued 15 people, four of whom died before reaching the hospital.

The matter is prosecuted by Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions  Joseph Kimanthi, Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Jami Yamina, and Principal Prosecution Counsels J. V. Owiti, Betty Rubia, and Anthony Musyoka.