A Shanzu court is set to resume the hearing of the Shakahola massacre case on Wednesday, July 24, 2024.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions(ODPP), said Senior Principal Magistrate Leah Juma will hear the case in which prime suspect Paul Nthege Mackenzie and others were charged with terrorism-related counts.
The ODPP boss Renson M. Ingonga said that the sixth prosecution witness homicide detective Constable Bernard Jefwa will share his testimony before the magistrate.
“A Shanzu court will resume today to hear the Shakahola massacre case in which prime suspect Paul Nthege Mackenzie and others were charged with terrorism-related counts. The 6th prosecution witness, a homicide detective, will continue with his testimony before Senior Principal Magistrate, Leah Juma,” Ingonga said.
“Police Constable Bernard Jefwa earlier informed. Juma how he discovered the victims of the massacre, bound with ropes and wrapped in blankets and white sheets. According to Jefwa, he exhumed the 429 bodies one at a time from the vast forest before transferring them to the morgue.”
Ingonga further stated that Jefwa had earlier narrated how he exhumed the 429 bodies from the forest before transferring them to the morgue adding the rescued victims were taken to Malindi Sub County Referral Hospital.
“Upon arriving at Shakahola Forest, my colleagues and I encountered individuals sleeping under the sheds and appearing weak. Later, we conducted searches, rescues, and grave identifications. Some victims appeared sickly and requested water,” Jefwa narrated.
“During the process of identifying whether there were more victims, we realized that the area was vast and contained many suspicious graves aside from the one we had come to exhume.”
The ODPP boss added that the prosecution witness disclosed that they were directed to the various grave sites by an escapee.
“A few days later, a male individual who accompanied the investigation team was able to show us where the minors were buried, and indeed we conducted the exhumation and placed the bodies in body bags,” he said.
Shakahola massacre
The Shakahola forest incident was first uncovered in April 2023 involving a religious leader Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, founder of Good News International Ministries.
Mackenzie’s Good News International Ministries was located in the remote of Kilifi County.