… 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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
MALINDI, Kenya, Jul 21 – A prosecution witness on Monday told a court hearing the Shakahola manslaughter case how his father’s devotion to the teachings of Pastor Paul Mackenzie led him to resign from the Kenya Prisons Service before the family disappeared. …
MALINDI, Kenya, Jul 21 – A prosecution witness on Monday told a court hearing the Shakahola manslaughter case how his father’s devotion to the teachings of Pastor Paul Mackenzie led him to resign from the Kenya Prisons Service before the family disappeared. …
NAIROBI, Kenya Jun 9 – The Shakahola massacre trial continued at the Tononoka Law Courts where the prosecution cross-examined defence witnesses in the case against Paul Mackenzie and 39 co-accused persons. …
Shakahola massacre case: Woman tells court her six dead children are 'happily in heaven' By Joseph Muia May 28, 2026 06:10 (EAT) Add as a Preferred Source on Google Follow us Follow on Whatsapp Follow on Google Follow on Twitter Shakahola massacre prime suspect Paul Mackenzie and …
… In 2023, Oduor was the lead government pathologist in the harrowing Shakahola massacre investigations, conducting autopsies on the first batch of victims linked to the forest cult associated with Paul Mackenzie. …
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.