The gripping trial of controversial preacher Paul Nthege Mackenzie — alongside 93 co-accused — resumed this week with fresh revelations that laid bare the inner workings of the Good News International (GNI) cult and the chilling indoctrination that led to one of Kenya’s deadliest mass tragedies.
The prosecution team, led by Assistant DPP Jami Yamina and supported by Prosecution Counsel Yassir Mohammed and Principal Prosecution Counsels Alex Ndiema, Betty Rubia, and Victor Owiti, continued presenting its witnesses as the court revisited the horrors of the Shakahola Forest massacre.
Appearing virtually, the 46th prosecution witness, Brenda Muhati Mwaura, delivered unsettling testimony that peeled back years of secrecy and radicalization inside the church. Mwaura, now 26, is the daughter of Pastor John Mwaura — a senior GNI cleric once close to Mackenzie. She recounted how her family’s faith journey devolved into spiritual captivity, manipulation, and enforced obedience.
“We joined the church when I was 13. At first it was normal preaching, then slowly everything changed,” she told the court. “Schools became ungodly. Hospitals became ungodly. Mackenzie warned us that education and medicine were distractions that would lead us away from salvation.”
She recalled how her father embraced the extremist teachings, forcing her to drop out of school in Form Two. The family later relocated to Malindi, where Mackenzie repeatedly showcased Brenda as a “model believer” who had renounced education for eternal reward.
She worked as a camera operator for Times TV, the church’s media arm, which churned out DVDs of Mackenzie’s fiery apocalyptic sermons. Other youths — including editors Sidi Smart and Michael Mweri — were similarly lured into abandoning school to serve in the media department.
But at 18, Brenda broke free.
“I realized this was not what God wanted. I was being controlled,” she said.
Years later, as reports of mass starvation began to spread, she warned the public through Facebook and tagged the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI). That act unleashed a wave of intimidation.
“Two people called me, one claiming to be a KDF soldier. He said I should stop talking about the church. I feared for my life,” she testified, noting she subsequently recorded a formal statement with DCI.
Brenda also revealed that in the cult’s final days, Mackenzie “sold everything” — including church vehicles and video equipment — before the movement unraveled. Her father eventually disassociated from Mackenzie.
Her testimony was followed by that of DCI Sergeant Joseph Yator, who was among the first officers to respond to the emerging crisis. He recounted being alerted on March 20, 2023, to a group of survivors — three adults and a severely malnourished boy. The child described a harrowing ordeal: forced starvation, death of siblings, and parents following Mackenzie’s fasting orders.
The deaths, he said, were reported by the surviving children’s grandfather, who was distressed by the cult’s escalating brutality.
Mackenzie was first arrested on March 22, 2023, but controversially released on a KSh 10,000 bail. Further rescue operations uncovered 15 more victims, four of whom later died. Suspects including Robert Kahindi Katana, Alfred Asena, and Stephen Muye were subsequently arrested.
Sergeant Yator presented 89 photographs in court, showing pamphlets, books, CDs, and other propaganda recovered from the forest — evidence of the cult’s systematic indoctrination. He also disclosed that Mackenzie had previously filed a defamation complaint against Brenda in November 2022, accusing her of falsely claiming he was “burying people in the bush” — a claim now tragically confirmed in the aftermath of the massacre.
The court also heard from Dr. Laurence Nderi, CEO of Mathari Teaching and Referral Hospital, who led the mental assessments of 31 accused persons. He confirmed that all — including Mackenzie — were mentally fit to stand trial, save for one individual who required treatment before being declared fit.
With the Shakahola massacre having claimed hundreds of lives and left the nation grappling with unanswered questions about religious extremism, accountability, and state oversight, the trial remains a national focal point. More witnesses are expected to take the stand in the coming weeks as the prosecution pushes to lay bare the full truth behind the tragedy.
