Silverio Omari
The manslaughter trial against cult preacher Paul Mackenzie and his co-accused has entered its fourth day at the Mombasa law courts.
Today, Trial Magistrate Alex Ithuku is expected to hear testimony from the fifth witness. On Wednesday, the fourth witness, Hassan Hamara, who served as the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) at Lango Baya, testified that Mackenzie had been arrested twice previously, though no case file was opened at the station. Due to the sensitivity of the matter, these cases were immediately transferred to the DCI team in Malindi.
On Tuesday, the second and third witnesses, both followers of Mackenzie, described how the first group of followers arrived at Shakahola in October 2020, transported in a lorry. They testified that in September of that year, Mackenzie had informed his followers that he had secured a piece of land at Chakama Ranch, instructing them to sell their belongings and relocate to Shakahola.
One of the witnesses, a 17-year-old girl who was secretly withdrawn from school in Eldoret by her mother without her father’s knowledge, recounted that they were allocated two acres of land for a fee of Sh1,500. Upon their arrival in Shakahola, men and women were housed separately in makeshift tents, and the next day, each follower was assigned their parcel of land.
The trial began on Monday, August 12, with the first witness, whose identity remains protected, testifying in a closed session. The Director of Public Prosecutions has lined up 90 witnesses to testify in the case.
Mackenzie and his 94 co-accused are facing charges related to the shocking Shakahola deaths, where over 400 bodies were recovered from shallow graves in a forest in Kilifi. The state alleges that Mackenzie, as the leader of the cult, persuaded many of the victims to fast to death.
Dj Vnyash
