Hard truths. Bold Insights. Real talk.
For nearly two years, the remains of the victims were kept at Malindi Sub-County Hospital mortuary, carefully preserved and labeled while forensic teams worked to match DNA samples to families eager for closure.This week, authorities launched a new phase of releasing identified bodies, this time including 37 victims, providing families with the opportunity to finally say goodbye.
The officer told the court that they had separated Mackenzie from the other suspects, and an informer had reported that the preacher secretly ate in his cell so his followers would not notice.
The self-styled preacher, who is accused of leading a starvation cult in Shakahola, Kilifi County, told the court that he fears the medical attention he is receiving could be used to target him.
The witness recounted that Mackenzie often referred to a passage in the Book of Revelation about a pregnant woman hiding in the wilderness for 1,260 days to escape a seven-headed dragon.
The prosecution team, led by Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Jami Yamina and supported by Principal Prosecution Counsel Betty Rubia, as well as counsels Eunice Odongo and Biasha Khalifa, sought to highlight the depth of abuses allegedly carried out under Mackenzie’s influence.
Titus Ngonjo Gandi told Principal Magistrate Nelly Chepchirchir that his wife, Esther Birya Masha, lured their two sons, Harry and Isaack Ngala, into Mackenzie’s cult
Mackenzie, who has been locked up for over two years in relation to the Shakahola massacre, had told the court that harmful substances were planted in his cell to harm him.
At Shakahola, P.P. said followers were told to fast to death in stages, children first, followed by women, the elderly, and finally Mackenzie.
So far, 11 people linked to the alleged cult have been arrested and are currently being held in remand. They are expected to appear in court on August 22.