Witness narrate how Kwa Bi Nzaro massacre was discovered

At least five shallow graves and several human skeletons were found in the homestead of Ms Shallyne Anindo, one of the alleged masterminds of the Kwa Bi Nzaro massacre in Malindi, Kilifi County.

The witness, Gona Charo, recounted how the homestead of Ms Anindo was searched by police officers, where the shocking graves containing human skeletons were found.

Anindo is accused alongside Pastor Paul Makenzi of the defunct Good News International (GNI) church and six others in a terrorism matter involving the death of 52 people in the Kwa Binzaro area in Kilifi County.

Authorities recovered 52 bodies and general body parts from the shallow graves at the Kwa Bi Nzaro area in August 2025. Kwa Bi Nzaro village in the expansive Chakama Forest, a few kilometres from Shakahola.

Makenzi, Anindo, Kahindi Kazungu Garama, Tom Ochieng Mkonwe, Julius Thuva Luwali, and Johnson Gona Richard are facing charges including murder and crimes against humanity over the Kwa Bi Nzaro massacre.

Yesterday, while testifying before Shanzu Law Court’s magistrate Mwanamkuu Sudi, Charo said that more than five graves were found at the accused’s homestead.

He narrated how three strangers arrived at his uncle’s homestead in the year 2025, who would later break the news of the existence of a cult at Kwa Bi Nzaro.

The three strangers, two men and a woman, appeared like clients looking for land to buy, and they were waiting for the village elder.

“Later on July 18, 2025, I received a call from my wife while I was grazing in Bofu, informing me that there was a visitor at home seeking the village elder’s contacts. We shared contacts through my wife, and I also informed the village elder about the visitor,” the witness told the court.

Charo told the court that his wife told him that she had allowed the visitor to use her phone to contact his relatives.

The relatives subsequently called her and spoke of a church in Bi Nzaro Forest where people were allegedly undertaking prolonged prayer and fasting until death, with a female pastor said to be in charge.

Mr Charo later received a call from the Assistant County Commissioner (ACC) for Langobaya Division, who asked whether he knew a man named Mudzomba and whether he was aware of a church at his residence.

After saying he was unaware of any church, the witness was directed to establish whether there was one in the area.

Accompanied by two Nyumba Kumi members, Mr Charo proceeded to Mudzomba’s residence. Mudzomba directed them to a nearby woman who had purchased land and allegedly owned a church.

They proceeded to the woman’s homestead, about 1.5 kilometres away, where they found a fenced compound with a locked gate.

“I recognised the woman as Anido, the same one I previously saw at my uncle’s homestead among people looking for land,” Charo told the Shanzu Court.

After explaining that he was working with the county government, Charo was allowed into the compound.

Anindo told him that four employees guarded and maintained the property and that she did not reside there. She said she had only come to check on a sick employee and take him to hospital.

The witness said the employee appeared pale and weak. He also photographed Ms Anindo’s identification document before leaving and informed her that he would return the following day.

Charo subsequently briefed the ACC, who later returned with security officers, including police from Langobaya Police Station.

After Anindo delayed in opening the gate, officers broke it open and entered the compound.

Charo told the court that the search continued on July 19, 2025, and the team he was with noticed marks on the ground suggesting that something had been dragged.

The witness confirmed that they followed the trail and discovered the body of an adult male wearing only underwear and covered with a leso.

Further searches uncovered more than five suspected graves and human skeletal remains, according to Charo.

The police recovered the body and remains, while Mr Charo was directed to record his statement at the DCI offices in Malindi.