MALINDI, Kenya — A Malindi court has allowed the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to formally charge Good News International Church leader Paul Nthenge Mackenzie and his co-accused over the deaths of 52 people at the Binzaro homestead in Kilifi County.
In a ruling delivered on Monday, Malindi Senior Principal Magistrate Joy Wesonga granted the prosecution additional time to coordinate the production of all suspects before court, clearing the way for a joint plea-taking scheduled for February 11, 2026.
Mackenzie, who is currently remanded at Shimo la Tewa Maximum Prison, will be presented before the court on that date. His co-accused will remain in custody at Malindi GK Prison pending plea-taking.
The prosecution told the court that the charges stem from deaths linked to activities at the Binzaro homestead, where victims were allegedly lured through radical religious teachings.
In the Binzaro case, Mackenzie and his co-accused are set to face multiple serious charges, including engaging in organised criminal activities under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, radicalisation and facilitation of terrorist acts under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, and murder contrary to the Penal Code.
The court heard that Mackenzie is reasonably suspected to have masterminded and overseen the offences, using coordinated structures and extremist teachings to control and exploit followers at the remote homestead.
Investigators told the court they recovered handwritten notes from cells previously occupied by Mackenzie. The notes allegedly detail transactions conducted through mobile phones and are said to form part of the prosecution’s evidentiary material.
The suspects were arrested on July 19, 2025, at Binzaro Village in Makongeni B Sub-Location, Chakama Location, Malindi Sub-County, following extensive investigations by security agencies.
The matter is being prosecuted by Racheal Amala on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The fresh charges come barely two weeks after a major breakthrough in a related case, where Mackenzie’s co-accused, Enos Amanya alias “Halleluhya,” pleaded guilty to committing 191 murders in a separate matter before the Mombasa High Court.
Mackenzie is already facing multiple cases, including charges of murder, manslaughter, radicalisation, and offences against children, arising from the wider Shakahola-linked investigations.
