Shakahola massacre: Makenzi's right-hand man pleads guilty to manslaughter charges

One of the confidants of controversial preacher Paul Makenzi has pleaded guilty to killing 43 people in Shakahola, Kilifi County.

Enos Amanya, who said he was a gravedigger and Makenzi's security man, entered a plea bargain with the prosecution and entered a plea of guilty before Chief Magistrate Alex Ithuku.

Amanya admitted to killing the 43 people in Shakahola and is expected to be convicted on his own plea of guilt.

Ithuku took time to inform Amanya of his right to plead either guilty or not guilty and also the right to remain silent.

The magistrate also notified Amanya that the sentence for the offence is life and that the court will exercise its discretion when sentencing, regardless of the arrangement he had with the prosecution.

Amanya said the prosecution had informed him he would get 11 years, a fact the court said it is not bound by.

“Are you aware that if convicted, the court is not bound to abide by that agreement you have made with the prosecution, and the sentence can be lower or higher?" said Ithuku.

The magistrate said that once he is convicted on his own plea, he waives his right of appeal and can only appeal to the extent of the sentence.

Amanya was also notified that after signing with the prosecution, if they find there is perjury, he will be charged.

“I understand I have a right to persist on the plea of not guilty, and I have a right to a full trial and to remain silent. I know I have waived all those rights. The prosecution informed me the maximum penalty for manslaughter is 11 years,” said Amanya upon interrogation by the court.

On January 18, 2026, Amanya also confessed to killing 191 people in a murder case against him at the high court.

In a shocking confession, Amanya also entered a plea bargain with the prosecution, where he admitted to the 191 charges of murder.

He pleaded guilty to the murder charges before Justice Diana Mochache and is set for sentencing in February after the state presents a probation report.

Amanya was charged alongside Makenzi and 28 others with the murder of 191 people in Shakahola between January 2021 and September 2023.

The 51-year-old father of seven revealed that he used to live in Nairobi and used to attend a Pentecostal church. He said he had ambitions of becoming a pastor and even started a church in his house.

Amanya said that before Shakahola, he was a successful businessman in garbage collection around Nairobi and was able to buy a plot and build a house in Kasarani.

According to him, his wife introduced him to Makenzi in 2019, and he was intrigued by his teaching that spoke of Jesus' second coming and how education and health were not the way of the Lord.

Amanya decided to call Makenzi and shortly joined him in Eldoret, where he was having seminars.

He revealed how Makenzi had initially asked his followers through his Time TV to relocate to the wilderness (jangwani), which at the time was in one's heart, but later turned out to be Shakahola.

Amanya said that he wanted to relocate to his rural home because of the moral decay in Nairobi, but was informed that Makenzi was selling plots in Shakahola. In November 2020, he packed up, sold his plot in Kasarani at Sh700,000, paid all his debts and paid dowry before relocating to Shakahola with his wife, seven children and his brother David Amanya.

He said that in July 2022, Makenzi said he had dreamt and had a message from Jesus that people should start fasting until they see Jesus.

"I was in the security to guard against intruders. During the day, my role was digging graves and burying. We also had bouncers who dealt with any person defying orders or declining to fast," said Amanya.

He also revealed that his son was the first to die when the children began fasting.

"As time progressed, Pastor Makenzi declared that to go to heaven was by kicks and fist fights. The bouncers started tying those declining to offer their bodies. The binding was done using binding wires, and a person was tied to a tree to death," said Amanya in his confession tendered in court.

Amanya painted the picture of people dying in numbers and being buried day and night until word got out to the outsiders about people fasting to death. As a result, villagers from outside invaded Shakahola and forced Makenzi's followers deep into the forest within Chakama Ranch.

He said Makenzi's two children had refused to accompany him to Shakahola and remained in Malindi.

Amanya, who was one of the closest followers of Makenzi, agreed to enter a plea bargain with the state to testify against Makenzi and his co-accused.

Amanya had written several letters to Justice Mochache seeking to confess to the killings in Shakahola.

"The accused had written a bundle of letters with heavy implication, which has been omitted. There were a lot of issues that had been omitted that implicated him as a security person of Makenzi. He was crying to be helped, so he is either confessing or not," said Justice Mochache.

According to the facts, Amanya served as a gravedigger and provided security at the Shakahola forest.

In his confession, Amanya stated that coded language was used within the group, with bodies referred to as “fertiliser”, burial as “planting”, and death as “taking a jet” to meet Jesus.

He also said followers responded with “Amina” to affirm the pastor’s teachings.

Amanya told the court that several of his children died during the period, including Aaron Joshua and Ejah Nyaleso, whose deaths he witnessed.

He said only one child survived after refusing to participate and leaving the group.

After confirming the facts as true, Justice Mochache convicted Amanya on his plea of guilty and ordered a victim impact assessment ahead of sentencing, as the prosecution closed its murder case.

Makenzi faces charges in four different courts with charges ranging from murder, manslaughter of over 400 persons, abduction and child trafficking, and radicalisation.

He is also serving a one-year sentence for operating a television station without a licence.