11/11/2025
๐ฃ๐ฎ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟโ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ด๐ต๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐
๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฒโ๐ ๐๐๐น๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฎ๐ต๐ผ๐น๐ฎ ๐ง๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐
By Enos Ambani
PHOTO CREDITS: David Wafula
๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ, ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ Pastor John Mwauraโs daughter, Brenda Muhati, has exposed chilling details of life inside Paul Mackenzieโs Good News International Church during the ongoing Shakahola massacre trial.
Testifying virtually as the 46th prosecution witness, Brenda said her family joined the church when she was 13. Mackenzie, she recounted, declared schools and hospitals โungodlyโ and urged followers to abandon them in preparation for Jesusโ return. Her father, then a senior cleric, enforced the teachings, forcing her to drop out of school in Form Two.
The family later moved from Makongeni, Nairobi, to Malindi, where Brenda worked as a camera operator for Times TV, the churchโs media arm that produced Mackenzieโs apocalyptic sermons. Many youths, she said, also quit school to join the team.
At 18, Brenda left the church, realizing she had been manipulated. Years later, she posted a warning on Facebook after hearing about starvation in Shakahola Forest, tagging the DCI. She soon received threats, including from someone claiming to be a KDF soldier, and later recorded a statement with police.
Brenda said Mackenzie sold church property, including vehicles and equipment, before the cult collapsed. โI saw it coming,โ she testified, adding her father later severed ties with Mackenzie.
Sergeant Joseph Yator, one of the first DCI officers at the scene, told the court he rescued a malnourished boy whose parents starved him and his siblings on Mackenzieโs orders. Two children died, prompting a wider rescue that saved 15 more victims four of whom later died.
Yator presented 89 photographs of pamphlets, CDs, and books promoting Mackenzieโs extremist doctrines. He also revealed Mackenzie had once sued Brenda for defamation in 2022 for claiming online that he was โburying people in the bushโ allegations later proven true.
Dr. Laurence Nderi, CEO of Mathari Hospital, confirmed 30 of 31 accused, including Mackenzie, were mentally fit to stand trial.
The Shakahola massacre, which claimed hundreds of lives, remains one of Kenyaโs deadliest cult tragedies. The trial continues, with more witnesses expected in the coming weeks.
