God told me all my children are still alive, man refuses Shakahola DNA tests

Controversial preacher Paul Makenzi with his lawyer Lawrence Obonyo after the conclusion of this week's hearing at the Mombasa Law Court in Mombasa County on Thursday 31th July 2025. [Kelvin Karani, Standard]

A father has disputed a claim by the Director of Public Prosecutions that one of his children died at Shakahola, insisting that God told him all his children are still alive.

Anthony Wycliffe Muholo, while testifying before Justice Diana Mochache, told the High Court that his wife left with the children in 2023, pretending she was travelling from Nairobi to Busia, only for him to later discover that she had gone to Shakahola.

He told the High Court that his wife, Millicent Ojai — who is detained at Shimo la Tewa on manslaughter and radicalisation charges alongside preacher Paul Makenzi — informed him that she was not willing to disclose the children’s whereabouts over the phone unless he visited her at the prison.

He, however, told the court that he received a call from the DCI two weeks ago informing him that his DNA had matched that of his child, Antony Wycliffe.

Justice Mochache pressed him on why, after receiving the news, he had never travelled to Malindi to collect the body. He said he was financially constrained, adding that God had spoken to him and assured him that all five of his children were still alive.

Homicide detectives carrying bodies of cult victims in Shakahola forest ,Kilifi County. [Marion Kithi, Standard]

The DPP, seeking to prove the reported death of his child, requested a 30-minute recess, saying they were awaiting a report to confirm that his son had indeed died and been identified through DNA analysis.

Later, the DPP produced a document which the High Court ruled was too technical for even the witness to recognise as proof of the identification of Muholo’s allegedly deceased child. The court subsequently dismissed the document that had been presented.

Muholo was testifying in a case in which Makenzi and 29 others are facing 191 counts of murder.

Testifying virtually, he told the High Court that his wife had taken advantage of the 2023 political demonstrations following the installation of the new National Government. “She told me that due to the ongoing protests against the new government, there would be bloodshed in Nairobi and she wanted to relocate to Busia with the children for safety,” Muholo told the court.

He further said he received a call from someone in Malindi shortly after the group was rescued from Shakahola, informing him that his wife wanted to speak to him, although she was very weak at the time.