Paul Mackenzie’s First Shakahola Case Ends, Court to Rule on Trial

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has wrapped up the first case against controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie, accused of torturing children in the Shakahola Forest during a deadly fasting ritual that claimed more than 454 lives.

Prosecutors presented 76 witnesses and 112 exhibits, ranging from expert reports and literature to photographs and videos, before closing their case in just one year and two months.

The conclusion now paves the way for Tononoka Children’s Court Principal Magistrate Nelly Chepchirchir to decide whether Mackenzie and 34 of his co-accused will stand trial for the alleged brutal treatment of children, some of whom were reportedly whipped and beaten as they tried to flee the forced fasting.

Out of the 76 witnesses, 16 received protection, including 13 children. The hearings began on July 24 last year and ended on September 19, 2025, with the final three testimonies. Witnesses included massacre survivors, relatives of victims, several accused persons, investigators, first responders, police officers, medical personnel, caregivers, and pathologists who conducted the post-mortems.

The last witnesses to testify were Safaricom data analyst Dennis Muriithi, survivor Israel Veronica from Chakama in Malindi, and Inspector Phoebe Okomo from the DCI’s Child Protection Unit in Mombasa. Their evidence was heard before Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Jami Yamina officially closed the case.

Key Evidence Presented

Muriithi explained that Safaricom complied with a court order to provide call records and M-Pesa registration data crucial to the probe. Using this information, investigators traced the registration dates and last activity of four phone numbers linked to Mackenzie before they were recycled.

Veronica recalled how her father, one of the accused, pulled her and her six siblings out of school in 2019, declaring education sinful.

“Our family later moved from Kasarani, Nairobi, to Shakahola after selling everything, including our land. That is how we ended up there,” she told the court.

Chief Inspector Joseph Kolum of the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit submitted a massive 74,658-page forensic report extracted from Mackenzie’s mobile phones.

Using specialized software, Kolum revealed conversations between Mackenzie and his followers about fasting, prophecy, the Antichrist, the Beast, the New World Order, and the number 666. Prosecutors argued that Mackenzie used these themes to indoctrinate children and justify starvation.

Government pathologist Dr. Richard Njoroge further strengthened the case by presenting post-mortem results that pointed to systematic deaths caused by starvation.

Mackenzie and 34 of his co-accused now face charges of cruelty, torture, and denying children an education in connection with the Shakahola massacre.

Although prosecutors have closed the case related to the torture of children, Mackenzie and his associates still face three other cases before different courts, ranging from manslaughter and murder to radicalisation.

The matter will be mentioned again on October 14.

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