Also known as: Pastor Paul Mackenzie · Pastor Mackenzie · Paul Nthenge Mackenzie
Preacher accused of involvement in deaths at Shakahola forest between January and July 2025, facing multiple manslaughter and terrorism charges.
Verbatim sentences from the source article.
Capital News
… His intervention comes against the backdrop of the continuing criminal cases arising from the Shakahola deaths, which began in 2023 after authorities uncovered mass graves linked to followers of controversial preacher Paul Nthenge Mackenzie. …
Sifuna wants DNA, forensic identification completed before burial of 443 Shakahola remainsCitizen Digital
… Cult leader Paul Mackenzie and his co-defendants have remained in custody facing multiple streams of charges, including murder, manslaughter, terrorism, and child abuse. …
Kilifi County to dispose over 400 unclaimed bodies of Shakahola victims by DecemberCapital News
… Court proceedings in 2026 have heard evidence about additional graves and alleged deaths linked to followers of Paul Mackenzie. …
Over 400 shakahola bodies to be buried by Dec after DCI probeThe Standard
… The proclamation by the Kilifi County Government comes more than three years after discovery of mass graves in Shakahola, where hundreds of suspected followers of controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie died after being subjected to extreme starvation and other forms of abuse.“Only …
Families given 21 days to claim 443 Shakahola victims' bodiesCapital News
… The evidence forms part of the Director of Public Prosecutions’ case against eight suspects, including controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie, who are facing charges arising from the deaths of 52 people and allegations of radicalisation. …
Kwa Binzaro trial: Witnesses recount radical teachings, family disappearancesCitizen Digital
… country, making comprehensive oversight an ongoing challenge for administrative authorities.The call for tighter control over the religious sector gained national urgency following the 2023 Shakahola massacre, where more than 400 followers of self-proclaimed pastor Paul Mackenzie …
AG Dorcas Oduor raises alarm over rapid surge in church registrations, violent governance disputesCitizen Digital
Mackenzie 'transformed into snake in Shakahola, bit my husband' - Witness tells court By Citizen Reporter August 07, 2026 09:23 (EAT) Add as a Preferred Source on Google Follow us Follow on Whatsapp Follow on Google Follow on Twitter Paul Mackenzie and his co-accused in the Shaka …
Mackenzie 'transformed into snake in Shakahola, bit my husband' - Witness tells courtCapital News
MALINDI, Kenya, Aug 5 — The prosecution has opened its terrorism case against controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie and seven co-accused over the Kwa Binzaro killings, telling a Shanzu court it will rely on sixty witnesses, including protected witnesses, while adopting testimony …
Mackenzie terror trial opens as court adopts prior testimonies over Kwa Binzaro deathsCapital News
MOMBASA, Kenya, Jul 24 – The prosecution on Thursday presented five additional witnesses in the ongoing Kwa Binzaro manslaughter case against controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie and five co-accused, with a key witness recounting how his father disappeared after becoming a devot …
Son Tells Court How Father Vanished After Embracing Paul Mackenzie’s TeachingsCapital News
MOMBASA, Kenya, Jul 22 – A prosecution witness in the ongoing Kwa Binzaro manslaughter trial on Tuesday told the court that his brother embraced teachings allegedly propagated by Pastor Paul Mackenzie discouraging children from attending school and urging followers not to seek me …
Witness Says Brother Abandoned Schooling, Medical Care After Embracing Mackenzie TeachingsNairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has asked the Senate Standing Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights to establish the status of DNA profiling and forensic examinations on 443 unclaimed Shakahola remains, and to ensure all identification efforts are completed before Kilifi County buries them by December 2026.
8 October 2026 · Capital News →
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has asked the Senate Standing Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights to establish the status of DNA profiling and forensic examinations on 443 unclaimed Shakahola remains, and to ensure all identification efforts are completed before Kilifi County buries them by December 2026.
8 October 2026 · Capital News →
Kilifi County plans to dispose of 443 embalmed bodies of Shakahola massacre victims by December, after receiving approval from investigators and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations. Unclaimed bodies will be buried 21 days after gazette publication, with 14 bodies already identified by families.
21 September 2026 · Citizen Digital →
The Kilifi County Government plans to dispose of 443 unclaimed Shakahola remains by December after the Directorate of Criminal Investigations completed its investigations. The county is urging relatives to identify victims before legal deadlines for interment expire, with 14 bodies identified so far.
21 September 2026 · Capital News →
The Kilifi County Government has given families 21 days to identify and collect 443 bodies preserved at Malindi Sub County Hospital, with unclaimed remains to be buried by December 2026 near Shakahola Forest in a manner allowing future identification.
21 September 2026 · The Standard →
Five prosecution witnesses testified in the trial of eight suspects, including preacher Paul Mackenzie, accused of involvement in the deaths of 52 people. Evidence presented included accounts of religious indoctrination, abandonment of education and medical care, prolonged fasting, and disappearances of followers in the Malindi area.
4 September 2026 · Capital News →
Kenya's Attorney General Dorcas Oduor has flagged the rapid growth in church registration applications—nearly 60 per month—linked to severe governance failures, financial disagreements, and leadership conflicts within religious institutions. Internal church elections have become volatile, often escalating into violent clashes, forcing the state to intervene in legal disputes over leadership and assets.
28 August 2026 · Citizen Digital →
A witness in the Shakahola massacre trial told Mombasa court that pastor Paul Mackenzie allegedly transformed into a snake and bit her husband, and described how he persuaded followers to fast to death in the forest to meet Jesus.
7 August 2026 · Citizen Digital →
The prosecution opened its terrorism case against preacher Paul Mackenzie and seven co-accused in a Shanzu court over the Kwa Binzaro killings, saying it will call about 60 witnesses, including protected witnesses, while adopting prior testimony from eighteen witnesses in an earlier High Court case to prosecute allegations linked to fifty-two deaths.
5 August 2026 · Capital News →
In the ongoing Kwa Binzaro manslaughter case against preacher Paul Mackenzie and five co-accused, prosecution witnesses testified that a witness's father disappeared after becoming a devoted follower of Mackenzie's teachings, with his remains later identified through DNA analysis. Mackenzie faces 29 counts of manslaughter linked to deaths associated with the Shakahola tragedy.
24 July 2026 · Capital News →
A prosecution witness in the Kwa Binzaro manslaughter trial told a Mombasa court that his brother, a preacher at Good News International Church, abandoned schooling and medical treatment after embracing teachings by Pastor Paul Mackenzie that discouraged education and medical care as against God's will. The witness said he made three trips to Shakahola searching for his brother but was unable to locate him, and later learned he had been spotted in Malindi.
22 July 2026 · Capital News →
A prosecution witness testified that his father resigned from the Kenya Prisons Service in 2021 after adopting Pastor Paul Mackenzie's teachings, which discouraged medical treatment and formal education. The witness appeared in the ongoing manslaughter trial against Mackenzie and five co-accused, who face 29 counts of manslaughter over alleged deaths at Shakahola between January and July 2025.
21 July 2026 · Capital News →
A prosecution witness in the Shakahola manslaughter trial testified that his father resigned from the Kenya Prisons Service in 2021 after embracing Pastor Paul Mackenzie's teachings, which discouraged medical treatment and formal education. The witness, Japheth Lennox, described how his family relocated to Shakahola after encountering Mackenzie's broadcasts on Times TV while living in Migori County.
21 July 2026 · Capital News →
The prosecution cross-examined defence witnesses at the Shakahola massacre trial against Paul Mackenzie and 39 co-accused, with seven individuals testifying about alleged child neglect, isolation, and extremist teachings within the suspected commune. Witnesses described relocating children despite knowing there were no schools in the area, enforced social restrictions, physical punishment of minors, and ideological justification for withdrawing children from formal education.
9 June 2026 · Capital News →
In the Shakahola massacre case at Shanzu Law Courts, an accused woman testified that her six dead children willingly fasted to death to "meet their Creator" and dug their own graves before dying, expressing belief they are "happily in heaven."
28 May 2026 · Citizen Digital →
Dr Johansen Oduor, the Chief Government Pathologist, has been admitted to the roll of advocates of the High Court of Kenya after completing legal training. He was enrolled as an advocate during a ceremony presided over by Chief Justice Martha Koome, joining 166 lawyers called to the Bar.
25 May 2026 · The Standard →
Prosecutors presented forensic evidence and survivor testimony to the Mombasa High Court linking controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie to deaths in Shakahola forest. A forensic expert testified that investigators collected and analyzed samples including DNA from exhumed bodies, following internationally accepted procedures.
29 April 2026 · Citizen Digital →