By Samuel Ouma
The seventh witness in Kenya’s Shakahola Massacre has recounted how he was forced to aid his one-and-a-half-year-old daughter to fast to death by the controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie.
Testifying before Shanzu Senior Principal Magistrate Hon. Leah Juma, the protected witness, revealed that he initially tried to protect his child.
However, he eventually succumbed to pressure from elders who were enforcing the fast and monitoring the deaths. These elders were reportedly tasked by Paul Nthege Mackenzie, the prime suspect in the Shakahola massacre, to implement his radical teachings among his followers.
The witness recounted that he had no choice but to deprive his daughter of food and water, leading to her death after 15 days. He also shared that his wife died after enduring a ten-day starvation period in a makeshift tent where she had relocated.
Over two days—Wednesday and Thursday—the witness provided a harrowing account of how Mackenzie’s radical teachings resulted in the deaths of over 400 people in the vast Shakahola forest.
He explained that many children died between January and February 2023 following Mackenzie’s declaration of a fasting period. Initially voluntary, Mackenzie later made the fasting regime mandatory. The witness also noted that Mackenzie personally conducted burials for children who succumbed to starvation.
The witness added that he attempted to escape but was deterred by fear of capture and a lack of resources. After his child’s death, his wife moved to a makeshift tent in compliance with an order requiring fasting followers to retreat deep into the forest to evade police detection. At that time, police and families searched for missing loved ones.
Following his wife’s death, the witness told the court that he spent his remaining time in the forest transporting bodies from makeshift tents to burial sites and digging graves. He testified that after transporting these bodies, he began fasting but occasionally broke the fast by consuming honey and water.
The court adjourned the hearing until September 30, 2024, with further proceedings scheduled from October 1 to October 3, 2024, and October 28 to October 31, 2024.
