Fears of evictions triggered Shakahola fasting upon Makenzi's orders

Paul Makenzi appears before Chief Magistrate Alex Ithuku at Mombasa Law Court on February 19, 2026. [Kelvin Karani, Standard] It has emerged that fasting in Shakahola was prompted by the eviction of the people from the lands by the locals, who claimed they wanted to sell the land to the highest bidders. Yesterday, Enos Amanya, one of the closest followers of controversial preacher Paul Makenzi, said that people started fasting to death after being told to move out of Chakama Ranch. Amanya admitted to killing the 43 people in Shakahola and is expected to be convicted on his own plea of guilt. On January 18, 2026, Amanya also confessed to killing 191 people in a murder case against him at the high court. Enos Amanya before Mombasa Chief Magistrate Alex Ithuku at Mombasa Law Court on February 19, 2026. [Kelvin Karani, Standard] Amanya, who testified against Makenzi and 94 others in the manslaughter of 312 people, said that Makenzi asked people to fast to meet Jesus. Amanya, who was a security man and a grave digger, said that fasting kicked off after Mzee wa Mwabaya Mwaro announced the expiry of the settlement within the period. He told Chief Magistrate Alex Ithuku that the land was not for sale as promised by Makenzi and Mwaura, but for lease, and that some village elders had complained that they had not been paid enough money to sell the said land. "Makenzi told his followers to start fasting before the Mwabaya Maro people start to evict them from the land designated for sale. Makenzi urged his followers to hasten fasting to meet Jesus, saying dying from starvation is not sinful," said Amanya. He was charged alongside Makenzi and 28 others with the murder of 191 people in Shakahola between January 2021 and September 2023. The 51-year-old father of seven revealed that he used to live in Nairobi and used to attend a Pentecostal church. He said he had ambitions of becoming a pastor and even started a church in his house. Amanya said that prior to Shakahola, he was a successful businessman in garbage collection around Nairobi and was able to buy a plot and build a house in Kasarani. According to Amanya, those who had no food in their homesteads were the first to fast to deaths followed by others. He said there were 900 people, including children, when Makenzi announced that they commence fasting Amanya, who sold off his Nairobi Kariobangi plot for sh700,000 and relocated to Shakahola with a promise of getting a cheap land, said that he lost his six children to the fast. "Some followers accepted the orders to fast while others, like Baba Junior and Mama Jacob, and two others, rejected Makenzi's directive and left the forest with their families. The fasting started with children being starved to deaths followed by women, who reported dreams, and coded words were used to describe starvation-associated deaths," said Amanya. He said that women were stopped from breastfeeding children in order to starve them to deaths and a decision was made to establish a security team to deal with errant children who disobeyed fasting. Amanya further testified that the children were bundled together into homesteads, with some tied both legs and hands to stop them from escaping. He confessed to supervising a boy from Bethlemen village being tied to his wrist and legs with binding wire by his father and another girl aged between 13 and 15 by the name of Ruth from Galilae village, whose hands were tied together by Alex Mnagwe, 18th accused, and taken to Tiro, where she perished. Amanya testified that he separated from his wife and seven children living in Tiro Village and later found her holding two emancipated children. "I carried my two children with great pain. They asked me whether I would follow them to meet Jesus, and I responded in affirmation," said Amanya. Amanya said he was tasked to provide security, grave digging, and burials in shallow graves, working both at night and day shifts. He said when his wife handed over his two emancipated children to carry them on his back, he felt the weight of their pains. "I heard the deaths of my four children from their mother, who he said he disagreed with her over fasting," said Amanya. According to him, his wife introduced him to Makenzi in 2019, and he was intrigued by his teaching that spoke of Jesus' second coming and how education and health were not the way of the Lord. Amanya decided to call Makenzi and shortly joined him in Eldoret, where he was having seminars. He will continue to testify tomorrow on his role in the massacre in Shakahola.

Fears of evictions triggered Shakahola fasting upon Makenzi's orders

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