How Makenzi's followers starved children, cut ties with kin

Controversial preacher Paul Makenzi and his lawyer Lawrence Obonyo at Tononoka Children's Court in Mombasa, on December 2, 2024. [File, Standard] A court in Mombasa on Wednesday heard how controversial preacher Paul Makenzi allegedly influenced parents to starve children, withdraw them from school, and cut ties with relatives. Tononoka Children's Court heard testimonies in a case where Makenzi and his 34 co-accused are facing charges of torture, cruelty to children, and denial of basic education. Five witnesses told Principal Magistrate Nelly Chepchirchir how controversial preacher ordered his followers to withdraw their children from school, over claims that education was against God's teachings. One of the witnesses, Dominic Mwakudza, testified that his brother, Felix Katana, forced his four children to drop out of school, claiming that education had no value. "I advised him it was unlawful to deny children education. I even tried to find the best way to help, since our father took us to school. Eventually, I reported the matter to the authorities, and the children were taken by the children's department," Mwakudza said. He said that Katana's eldest child was in Form Two when he was forced to drop out. All Katana's four children dropped out of school during the Covid-19 period. Another witness, Anne Kauchi, a resident of Malindi's Serena area, told court that she lost two siblings in the Shakahola forest. Kauchi, a former member of Good News International Church, recalled that Makenzi preached that education was evil, prompting her to quit the church. Her mother, Judith Farasi, however, withdrew her younger siblings from school and continued to attend Makenzi's services before relocating to the Shakahola forest. Kauchi said her mother would often call to ask for financial support, and in February 2023, she visited her after the birth of her first child. During that time, she also persuaded her three siblings to join the cult. But later, Farasi told them they would not communicate again. Kauchi later learnt of mass deaths in Shakahola and discovered that her mother and sister, Elinah, were among the 429 victims who perished. Their identities were confirmed through DNA testing. "I chose to rebel against Makenzi's radical teachings after he started to denounce education," she told the court. Senior Sergeant Cyrus Irungu told court that the Shakahola massacre came to their attention after two men reported missing relatives inside the forest. The men told police that Emily Wanje, her husband Isaack Ngala, and their children were being starved. Irungu said he alerted Lango Baya OCS Chief Inspector Hamara Hassan, who directed him and two officers to accompany the men to the scene. The team drove six kilometres before trekking nine kilometres into the forest, where they reached Ngala's homestead. At the homested, they found an elderly woman holding an emaciated boy. Irungu testified that the woman was not related to the minor. When called by name, the boy said his mother had gone to attend a "wedding (funeral)." Another relative, identified as HGN, questioned the boy about his siblings. After hesitation, the child pointed to a flattened area where his brothers and sisters had been buried. The officers later handed the minor to HGN after he narrated the deaths of his siblings.

How Makenzi's followers starved children, cut ties with kin

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