Court hears how two Kilifi sisters helped establish Shakahola cult

Good News International (GNI) church, linked to the Shakahola massacre, was established by controversial pastor Paul Makenzi and two sisters from Kilifi County, a court heard on Monday.

Gertrude Deche told Mombasa Chief Magistrate Alex Ithuku that her sisters, Josephine Mbodze and one only identified as Elizabeth, were among the founding members of the church.

She testified that Mbodze was married to Evans Sirya, one of the accused persons who key witnesses have placed at the centre of the cult blamed for the death of over 450 people.

Deche said Mbodze and Elizabeth teamed up with Makenzi to establish the GNI in Malindi and Shakahola forest. Mbodze would later marry Sirya, making him a central person in his activities.

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In the past, other witnesses, like the area chief, said Sirya was tasked with securing burial permits for the GNI followers who died during the fasting period.

He falsified documents to indicate the deceased had succumbed to HIV/Aids or other illnesses.

Sirya suffered a stroke and was paralysed while in pre-trial detention at Shimo La Tewa prison. On Monday, he sat in a wheelchair and listened pensively as Deche described his role in the cult.

Makenzi, Sirya, and 91 others are facing 238 charges of manslaughter of the followers of GNI. The victims were either starved, strangled, or hit by a blunt object.

Deche told the court Mbodze used to call her mother demanding Sh50,000, claiming she was taking her inheritance.

She told the court that it was Sirya’s brother, Lewis Thoya, who informed her that Josephine and the children had died due to fasting at Shakahola.

Sirya’s six children died inside the forest, while his wife has not been found, said Deche.

“A postmortem result stated that my sister Mbodze died as a result of starving. We buried her at Dzidzoni. We have not located Elizabeth, who was married to Sirya,” she told the court.

The court was told that Sirya quit his job and forced children to drop out of school to join the cult. Sirya buried his head in shame as his sister-in-law testified about the atrocities of the cult.

Deche told the court that the late Josephine confessed to her that she and Sirya decided to stop their children from going to school because their education was in heaven.