Pastor Mackenzie’s murder trial is on a critical phase after the 88 postmortem reports which were linked to the Shakahola tragedy victims were brought out by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).

During the hearing, a 60-year-old man, Titus Ngonyo Gandi emotionally narrated the incidences that led to the loosing of his four family members in Shakahola. Gandi, whose son, a GSU officer, was among those who succumbed to the tragedy, described the death of his family members as a destructive belief system.

The old man recounted that in 2019 his wife Esther Mbila began showing a troubling behavior, preaching against education, and warning the neighbours against working for the government or acquiring government-issued documents, including birth certificates, identity cards and academic certificates.

He also later revealed that his wife, two of his children, one grandchild and his daughter-in-law all perished during the Shakahola incident.

The DPP presented another witness, a 23-year-old Robert Kithi, who informed the court that in 2023, the followers were instructed to begin fasting, as a pathway to heaven. According to him, the meeting that brought the starvation into existence was chaired by Pastor Mackenzie himself, claiming that the order “came from God”.

Kithi told the court that after the church was shut down in 2020, Mackenzie declared that the church mission was complete and he urged his followers to relocate to Jagwani area to await the coming of the Messiah.

Upon believing Pastor Mackenzie’s prophecy that a rapture would occur three years after 2021, a lot of them were prompted to relocate to Jagwani in Shakahola. Kithi said that he had been assigned security duties, including guarding a dam from wild animals while he was living in Shakahola, but he eventually fled when the fasting increased.

He testified that he buried his two siblings in November, but his mother did not allow him retrieve their bodies, insisting that the siblings had “gone to the Messiah”.

A Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officer, Paul Oguta, also testified that he was instructed by his supervisor to travel to Shakahola following a report that two children had been killed and buried secretly in the area. Upon arrival, Oguta and his team were shocked to find several individuals weak and starving under a tree.

Oguta revealed to the court that he carried out 88 postmortem examinations at the Malindi Mortuary and he also submitted the reports to the court as part of the evidence, clarifying that he was present during the exercise to witness the process.

“I was assigned to take the post-mortem of the victims who had died at Malindi Mortuary, and others were assigned to conduct exhumation”, Oguta said.

The Registrar of Companies was also among the witnesses who gave their testimonies on Tuesday. The court on the other side, continues to build its case against Pastor Paul Mackenzie and the other 30 co-accused who also face murder and radicalization charges.