MOMBASA, Kenya — A senior officer from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) testified in Mombasa High Court on Monday that four of the fifteen individuals rescued from the Shakahola forest died while being transported to Malindi Hospital.
The testimony forms part of the ongoing murder trial of Pastor Paul Mackenzie and 30 others linked to the deaths of 191 people.
Sergeant Benson Ingosi, a Scene-of-Crime Investigating Officer, recounted his role in the investigation, which began on April 13, 2023, when he accompanied DCI officers to Chakama Location following reports that followers of Mackenzie’s Good News International Ministries were fasting to death under his directives.
“During our search, we found several victims inside fasting bays enclosed with thorny branches, and many had been secretly buried in shallow graves,” Ingosi told the court, describing the sprawling forest dotted with homesteads where the bodies were discovered.
Ingosi further narrated that on April 18, 2025, he was called to a section near Langobaya where two decomposing bodies had been found by members of the public.
Eleven days later, he was called to another site in Shakahola, where a decomposed female body had been located, which he documented and photographed.
The fifth witness, George Okaka, provided a deeply personal account, describing how his wife and four children joined Mackenzie’s church and subsequently traveled to Shakahola in September 2022.
Okaka testified that his wife had destroyed their children’s books and identification documents before leaving. Despite sending Sh 6,000 to his wife in 2023, he lost contact with her and the children, eventually burying his wife and four children in October 2025, with two of his children still missing.
A child psychologist, Dr. Florence Mueni, also testified, presenting psychological reports compiled by a team of six psychologists based on interviews with 26 rescued children. The assessments revealed the extreme trauma endured by young survivors of the sect.
To date, the prosecution has presented 70 witnesses in the trial, which revolves around the deaths of 191 individuals, allegedly linked to Mackenzie’s teachings and the practices of Good News International Ministries.
The case continues to draw national attention for its scale, the shocking conditions of the victims, and the psychological and social implications for surviving family members.
