MALINDI, Kenya — The prosecution on Monday presented four additional witnesses in the ongoing Kwa Binzaro manslaughter case against Pastor Paul Mackenzie and five co-accused, with one witness recounting how his father’s embrace of Mackenzie’s teachings led him to resign from the Kenya Prisons Service before disappearing with his family.
Pastor Paul Mackenzie, alongside Shallyne Temba, Kahindi Garama, Tom Mkonwe, Julius Luwali, and Johnson Richard, is jointly facing 29 counts of manslaughter over the deaths of 29 people allegedly linked to activities at Kwa Binzaro Village in Chakama Location, Magarini Sub-County, Kilifi County.
The prosecution alleges that the accused jointly caused the deaths between January and July 2025.
The hearing proceeded virtually before Senior Principal Magistrate Eric Wambo.
Witness Recounts Family’s Journey
One of the prosecution witnesses, Japheth Lennox, told the court that his family first encountered Pastor Mackenzie’s teachings through broadcasts on Times TV while living in Migori County.
According to Lennox, the sermons warned followers against accepting what was described as the “mark of the beast,” discouraged medical treatment by teaching that illnesses should only be healed through prayer, and portrayed formal education as part of a corrupt worldly system.
He testified that in 2021, his father, Seth, who worked as a prison officer, resigned from the Kenya Prisons Service after adopting the teachings.
Lennox told the court that his father believed he could not “serve both the beast and the Lord.”
Family’s Disappearance
The witness further testified that his father later invited him to relocate with the family to Shakahola, but he declined because he considered himself too young to make such a move.
In March 2025, his parents informed him they were relocating to Kisii. However, when he attempted to contact his father the following month, the phone was unreachable.
Lennox said that in June 2025, he received an anonymous phone call from a person with a coastal accent.
“They have left us,” the caller reportedly told him.
He said he understood the statement to mean that his parents and siblings had died, adding that he has neither seen nor heard from any of them since.
DNA Match
Lennox also testified that officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) later contacted him and informed him that DNA samples he had submitted matched some of the bodies recovered from Shakahola.
The prosecution also called Meresia Adhiambo Juma and Titus Omondi, identified as Seth’s elder brother, to testify before the court.
The case will continue with the hearing of additional prosecution witnesses as the trial progresses.
