Witness recounts losing 12 kin to Mackenzie’s cult

The Tononoka Children's court in Mombasa on Thursday heard how a 60-year-old man lost his entire family to the Shakahola massacre linked to Pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie of the Good News International Church.

Titus Ngonjo Gandi, during the ongoing trial of the preacher and his co-accused over the tragedy, told Principal Magistrate Nelly Chepchirchir that his wife, Esther Birya Masha, lured their two sons, Harry and Isaack Ngala, into Mackenzie’s cult.

Both joined the sect with their wives and children, abandoning education, formal employment, and family responsibilities in the process.

Gandi narrated that his firstborn son , Harry, his wife, and their five children all perished in the forest.

His second son, Isaack, a former General Service Unit (GSU) officer, resigned from his job after Mackenzie’s teachings convinced him that salaried work was evil.

Isaack’s wife, a government-employed teacher, also resigned and relocated with him and their three children to Shakahola. Tragically, Isaack, his wife, and two of their children also died in the forest.

Only one child survived, whom  Gandi now raises.

He added that he had managed to bury two of his 12 family members who perished in the massacre.

Gandi explained that his life had been ruined after losing his wife, two sons, their wives, and his grandchildren to Mackenzie’s radical doctrine.

He said that only one grandson survived by God’s grace.

The grieving father recalled warning his wife against joining the church, which openly preached against education and formal employment.

He said their marriage strained after she embraced Mackenzie’s teachings and insisted there was nothing good in that church, describing its message as misleading to society by teaching that education and work were evil.

Gandi revealed that Isaack even withdrew his elder son, Seith, from school, citing the sect’s radical doctrine.

The witness emphasized that Mackenzie’s teachings turned productive citizens into dependents, abandoning their families to starvation.

He further recounted his last meal with his wife before she disappeared into the Shakahola Forest, never to return.

DNA analysis later confirmed the identities of some of his family members, whose remains he managed to bury.

One grandson remains unaccounted for.

The elderly man said he first saw Mackenzie in person during his wife’s burial, though he had seen him before on social media.

He also identified other cult members he knew, including Smart Mwakalama and Evans Sirya.

Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Mackenzie is currently on trial over the so-called "Shakahola Forest Massacre" - and has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter.

He is alleged to have told his followers they would get to heaven more quickly if they stopped eating.