The trial of controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie and his seven co-accused, charged with masterminding the deaths of 52 people at Kwa Binzaro, resumed before Lady Justice Wendy Kagendo at Mombasa High Court, with the court hearing testimony from three additional witnesses.
Senior Sergeant Livingstone Lihanda, the third prosecution witness, detailed how he documented the crime scene, including the exhumation process and collection of exhibits.
He told the court that 52 bodies, mostly skeletal remains and body parts, were recovered from homesteads within Kwa Binzaro.
In a forensic crime scene report dated March 2, 2026, he noted that two graves contained the highest number of bodies, with three remains each.
The fourth witness, identified as J.O. from Siaya, recounted how he became a follower of Mackenzie in 2019 after watching his “end times” sermons on Times TV. He told the court that he embraced teachings that rejected formal education, medical care, and cosmetic use, prompting him to withdraw his children from school and relocate his family to Shakahola in 2020 in search of spiritual fulfillment.
In Shakahola, life revolved around extreme fasting under strict teachings relayed through Mackenzie’s followers. J.O. later reconnected with the group through his son P.O., who called him while in custody, and participated in efforts to recruit others, eventually settling in isolated camps in Malindi where followers were urged to fast to death.
He identified some of the guards in Kwa Binzaro to be some of the accused persons.
He gave a distressing account of losing all six of his children to starvation, recalling their cries for food and water.
The fifth witness, identified as L.A., the wife of earlier witness J.O., corroborated key aspects of her husband’s testimony while offering a deeply personal account of the suffering they endured.
She told the court that their journey to Malindi, initially undertaken with hope and faith, quickly descended into a harrowing ordeal.
L.A. also identified six of the accused persons present in court, stating that she had seen them at Kwa Binzaro during the period in question.
She further recounted how children, weakened by prolonged hunger, would attempt to escape the forest in search of food or water, only to be pursued, captured, and severely beaten by enforcers of the group’s doctrine.
According to her testimony, these punishments were meant to instill fear and deter any attempts to flee.
In an emotional account, L.A. told the court that she witnessed the deaths of her own children after being confined in a room for seven days, underscoring the extreme conditions and devastating human toll within the forest.
The prosecution team is led by the Deputy Directors of Public Prosecutions Joseph Kimanthi and Jami Yamina, Principal Prosecution Counsels Victor Owiti, Betty Rubia, and Frank Sirima Prosecution Counsel Nancy Cherop.
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