Three witnesses testify in Kwa Binzaro murder trial against Mackenzie
Three witnesses testify in Kwa Binzaro murder trial against Mackenzie
Three prosecution witnesses have testified in the Kwa Binzaro murder trial against controversial preacher Paul Nthenge Mackenzie and seven co-accused as the prosecution intensifies efforts to secure convictions over the alleged killings in Kilifi County.
The hearing, conducted before Lady Justice Wendy Kagendo, heard testimony relating to the alleged misuse of a national identity card to register a mobile phone SIM card, the arrest of several accused persons and fingerprint examination evidence.
The case concerns the alleged murder of adults whose remains were recovered from shallow graves at Kwa Binzaro, approximately four kilometres from Shakahola. Authorities have reported exhuming 28 bodies from the site.
Mackenzie and his co-accused face murder charges alongside other proceedings involving alleged manslaughter and radicalisation offences linked to the Kwa Binzaro deaths.
During Tuesday’s proceedings, the first witness, Emily Achieng, a Kisumu County resident who works as a salonist, testified virtually that she was contacted by Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officers in 2025 over the alleged use of her national identity card details to register mobile phone numbers.
Achieng told the court that the officers informed her that her identification number had been used to register one or more SIM cards allegedly operated by an individual in Kilifi for unlawful purposes.
She said she subsequently presented herself to DCI officers in Kisumu, where she recorded a statement.
The witness maintained that she had no knowledge of the registration and use of the SIM card in question. She provided details of the two mobile phone numbers registered in her name and told the court that she had never visited Kilifi.
Achieng added that she only learnt about Mackenzie through television reports.
The second witness, Alfred Kipchumba, a police officer attached to the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) in Mombasa, testified about the arrest of four of the accused persons.
Kipchumba told the court that he and three colleagues arrested Shallyne Anindo Temba, Kahindi Kazungu Garama, Tom Ochieng Mkonwe and James Kazungu Kahindi during a targeted night operation at a rented apartment in Bamburi Mtopanga.
He said the arrests were conducted at approximately 9.30pm, during which officers seized mobile phones and SIM cards from the suspects.
The items were subsequently handed over to ATPU officers in Malindi, the court heard.
The third witness, Filbart Niwa, a trained fingerprint examiner from the National Registration Bureau, provided evidence through a written statement on oath previously recorded in another case involving the accused persons.
The court, following a request by the prosecution and with the agreement of the defence, admitted the certified testimony as the witness’s evidence-in-chief.
The prosecution team is led by Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Jami Yamina, alongside Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Frankline Sirima, Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Owiti and Assistant Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Betty Rubia.
According to the prosecution, more than 45 witnesses have already testified in the trial, with over 10 additional witnesses lined up for the current week’s proceedings, alongside documentary and other exhibits.
The latest hearing comes a week after Mackenzie and 28 co-accused were convicted in a separate case arising from the Shakahola massacre, involving the deaths of 191 people, including 190 children.
The Kwa Binzaro proceedings are scheduled to resume on Wednesday, when the prosecution is expected to call six more witnesses as it continues presenting its case against Mackenzie and the seven co-accused.
