The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) strengthened its case in the ongoing Shakahola massacre trial after three witnesses delivered disturbing accounts linking Pastor Paul Mackenzie's Good News Church to the disappearance and deaths of loved ones.

Testifying virtually before Justice Diana Kavedza at the Mombasa High Court, the prosecution's first witness, Abel Kaire Oyalo, gave an emotional account that briefly halted proceedings. Speaking from Kisii, Oyalo recalled how his family life unravelled after his wife abandoned their Kenya Assemblies of God (KAG) church in Gachie, Kiambu County, and adopted Mackenzie's teachings.

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The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) today tightened its case in the ongoing Shakahola massacre trial after... pic.twitter.com/XjVotHtVYS - Office of The Director Of Public Prosecutions (@ODPP_KE) December 8, 2025

"Suddenly, my wife's lifestyle changed," he said. "She stopped wearing trousers, shaved her hair, and stopped taking the children to hospital and school."

Oyalo said his wife eventually left their home in Kiambu with their children and moved to Shakahola. When he traced her in March 2023, she refused to return, accusing him of hindering her faith and insisting she had "moved on," urging him to marry someone else. She later cut off all communication.

"I have never seen my wife again," he told the court.

His anguish resurfaced as he recalled being contacted by government officials in 2025 to collect the body of one of his four missing children, positively identified through DNA tests. "I managed to recognise my daughter by looking at her teeth," he said.

The second prosecution witness, Julius Mnyambo, the brother of the late accused person Edison Safari Mnyambo, told the court that Edison - formerly a carpenter in Malindi - had also relocated with his family to Shakahola. Edison later fell ill in custody and died at Coast General Hospital. His body was released to the family for burial, and one of his children, also recovered, was handed over to relatives.

The court also heard from the third witness, Jackline Mumbe Mary, who detailed how unsuspecting individuals were gradually drawn into Mackenzie's circle. She narrated how she moved to Mombasa to live with her sister, Monicah Mary, who slowly indoctrinated her into the church.

"My sister told me there's a pastor who believes plaiting hair is an abomination," Mumbe testified. At the time, she worshipped at the Africa Inland Church (AIC). She said her sister exposed her to Mackenzie's sermons on Times TV, prompting her to shave her hair and join the church. She later left due to internal conflicts.

Her sister subsequently disappeared and has never been found.