Shakahola deaths: Paul Makenzi awaits judgment

A Mombasa court is expected to deliver judgment today against Pastor Paul Makenzi, who is accused of the murder of 191 people in Shakahola Forest in Kilifi County. The decision follows testimony from 121 witnesses who recounted harrowing accounts of the cult.

A protected witness, identified only as J, described watching his six children starve to death. He said followers of the defunct Good News International Church (Wateule) were ordered by Makenzi to deny the children their freedom.

Another protected witness told the court he moved from Kitui County with his wife and six children, and that all of them died. Other witnesses said shallow graves dug in the forest were referred to inside the cult as “weddings,” and the bodies as “fertiliser.”

Perhaps weighed down by the testimonies, one of Makenzi’s co-accused, Enos Amanya, alias Hallelujah, pleaded guilty to 191 counts of murder. He admitted acting as a grave digger and enforcer, and said his own children also died.

On Friday, Makenzi made a last bid for acquittal. Through his lawyer, Lawrence Obonyo, he and 31 co-accused asked Justice Kavedza Mochache to acquit them for lack of direct evidence.

They argued that the prosecution had not proved beyond reasonable doubt that he caused the deaths.

“The evidence on record does not attain the high degree of cogency required and at best raises mere suspicion and conjecture. In such circumstances, the law is clear: any reasonable doubt must be resolved in favour of the accused, who are therefore entitled to an acquittal,” Obonyo said.

Makenzi was charged with 30 other followers over the deaths of 180 children and 11 adults.

Government pathologist Dr Richard Njoroge told the court that 110 bodies were so decomposed that the cause of death could not be determined. Among the rest, 31 deaths resulted from starvation and 41 had features consistent with starvation. Four deaths were from asphyxia with features of starvation, and two were from starvation with features of asphyxia. One death was from manual neck compression and another from a traumatic head injury.

Obonyo argued that where the cause of death is unknown, the prosecution cannot show whether the deaths resulted from an unlawful act or omission, or from natural causes or voluntary fasting.

“Where the cause of death is unknown, the prosecution cannot exclude the possibility that the deaths occurred from natural causes or even pre-existing medical conditions, among many other possibilities,” he said.

He dismissed the 31 starvation deaths as an observation rather than a medical finding, saying it did not establish who caused the starvation. The post-mortem, he said, could not show whether children were denied food by their parents, refused to eat, or had food and chose not to eat.

Obonyo said the investigation lacked key forensic processes.

“The absence of key forensic processes, such as forensic archaeology, anthropology, radiology, and structured peer review, raises serious doubts as to the integrity, completeness, and reliability of the investigations,” he said.

He noted that state witness Dr Kalsi had described Shakahola as a complex forensic case involving mass graves and skeletal remains, which required a coordinated, multidisciplinary approach. Obonyo said there were no forensic archaeologists to oversee the exhumations, which he called fatal to the case. He also pointed to the absence of radiology (X-rays or CT scans), anthropology or odontology reports, uncertainty over DNA analysis and unmatched profiles, and poor photographic documentation. He added that Kalsi had confirmed his report relied on limited information that was insufficient for a conclusive evaluation.

“These deficiencies go directly to the issue of causation, which is central to the offence of murder. Without proper forensic handling, the prosecution cannot reliably establish the cause of death, the identity of the deceased, or any link between the accused and the deaths,” Obonyo said.

“The cumulative effect of inadequate investigations, missing expert evidence, gaps in forensic processes, and lack of scientific certainty is that the prosecution has failed to meet the threshold of proof beyond reasonable doubt.”

Obonyo told the court that witnesses described harsh conditions in Shakahola, with a persistent lack of food and water, and that any starvation may have resulted from those conditions rather than from the act of any accused person. He said each person who fasted made a free, voluntary and informed decision, with access to food and the ability to leave.

“Their decision to fast, to continue fasting, and to not seek food was their own act. That act breaks the chain of causation between any words spoken by the 1st accused (Makenzi) and their death,” he said.

He said no witness testified to seeing any accused deny food to, restrain or assault a specific child who later died.

“We respectfully submit that the prosecution has failed to discharge its burden of proving the actual cause of death to the required legal standard. This Honourable Court ought to find that the element of causation has not been established,” he said.

The decisions made in Shakahola, he argued, were born of individual conscience, and the court cannot punish one man for another’s spiritual choices.

“Justice is served only when we attribute responsibility where it truly lies, with the individual actor, and not with the community at large. To do otherwise is to punish the teacher for the student’s path,” he said.

Makenzi also faces other cases. These include manslaughter charges over the deaths of 191 people before the Mombasa Chief Magistrate, and child cruelty and torture charges at Tononoka Children’s Court.

He faces terrorism and radicalisation charges at Shanzu Law Courts. In the Malindi High Court, he faces new murder charges over the deaths of 52 people at Kwa Binzaro, a breakaway cell of Shakahola, which he is accused of running from Shimo La Tewa prison.