- Controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie is set to face 52 additional murder charges after investigators linked him to a second wave of cult-related deaths
- Prosecutors said forensic analysis, protected witness accounts, call data records and Mpesa transactions directly connected Mackenzie to the deaths
- Court documents show the confirmed death toll at Kwa Bi Nzaro rose to 52 after experts matched 102 mixed human remains
- Investigators further alleged that Mackenzie coordinated the cult’s activities even while in custody at Shimo La Tewa Prison, issuing instructions remotely
Didacus Malowa, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.
Controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie is set to face 52 additional murder charges after he was directly linked to the second wave of cult-related deaths in Kwa Bi Nzaro Forest.
Source: Facebook
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) told the Malindi Law Courts on Friday, January 23, that it had completed an extensive review of evidence and resolved to charge Mackenzie alongside six alleged accomplices accused of extending the Shakahola fasting-to-death ritual to Kwa Bi Nzaro.
Kwa Binzaro, also within the Chakama Ranch, lies a few kilometres from the original Shakahola scene, where more than 450 people died in 2023 in one of Kenya’s deadliest cult tragedies.
During the proceedings, Mackenzie couldn’t be charged as he failed to appear in court because a production order had not been issued.
“We have analysed the evidence, all the suspects will face charges. One of the suspects we intend to charge is not before the court today, but we expect to charge them together. He is currently being held at Shimo La Tewa Prison,” the Prosecution told the court.
How did detectives connect Mackenzie to Kwa Binzaro?
Investigations have established that the Kwa Bi Nzaro deaths were not an isolated incident but a continuation of operations linked to remnants of Mackenzie’s outlawed Good News International (GNI) church.
Detectives confirmed that the second site was deliberately activated after heightened scrutiny at Shakahola, pointing to an organised and highly adaptive network.
The confirmed death toll at Kwa Bi Nzaro stands at 52 following the conclusion of a forensic association exercise on human remains recovered during exhumations.
Court documents filed by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) show that experts analysed and matched 102 mixed human remains, confirming 18 additional victims beyond the 32 bodies initially exhumed in August.
Investigators told the Malindi court that forensic findings, alongside protected witness statements, had firmly linked the Kwa Bi Nzaro operation to Mackenzie.
The evidence includes call data records, Mpesa transactions and corroborated accounts from accomplice witnesses.
Source: UGC
According to investigators, suspects including Sharleen Temba Anido, Kahindi Kazungu Garama, Thomas Mukonwe and James Kahindi Kazungu travelled across several counties mobilising former GNI followers.
They allegedly directed them to Kwa Bi Nzaro under the guise of “prayers”, a coded reference to enforced fasting to death.
Police believe the group lured and confined more than 40 former GNI adherents from Kilifi, Busia, Siaya, Migori, Homa Bay and Kisii counties in a homestead at Kwa Bi Nzaro.
It is in this isolated homestead that they are believed to have been starved under the belief that death would lead to ascension to heaven.
Crucially, detectives allege that Mackenzie remained in control of the group even while in custody at Shimo La Tewa Maximum Security Prison, where he is being held over the Shakahola deaths.
Court filings indicate that he coordinated meetings, issued instructions through phone calls and addressed followers virtually, urging them to travel to Malindi and fast until death so that they could “meet Jesus”.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
