Witness in manslaughter case tells court how Makenzi covered tracks

A witness in a case facing 95 persons linked to the Shakahola massacre told the court on Friday how controversial pastor Paul Makenzi ensured he was not implicated in the fasting deaths of his followers.

The witness said Makenzi and his disciples followed family members of the dead to the police station to ensure no one said he was behind the fasting and death in Shakahola.

According to the witness under police protection, Makenzi’s so-called disciples instructed his family to tell the police at Malindi Police Station that his mother started to fast after she had a vision from God. 

Makenzi and 94 accused persons are facing 38 counts of manslaughter charges before Mombasa Chief Magistrate Alex Ithuku. The witness said his mother took him to Makenzi to seek healing from a long illness.

The 17-year-old witness testified that he was healed after prayers. After the healing, his mother forced him and his sister to convert from Islam to Christianity against the wishes of their father.

“My mother told us - my younger sister and I - we must defect Christianity. My father was not in agreement with the decision. My mother was the decision maker in the house and we had to agree with her,” he said.

He told the court his mother disappeared from home to an unknown location twice before going missing for the third time before she died.

“We realised she had gone to Makenzi’s church after she disappeared the second time and came back emaciated. We started sympathising with her. That is when we realised she was going to Makenzi’s church,” the witness told the court.

The witness said he met at Makenzi Malindi Police Station where he had accompanied his father to report the death of his mother.

He also recognised another accused person whom he said told them not to mention the pastor to the police. He said the person asked him to claim that he had a vision instructing him to fast, and the pastor was not involved.