SHAKAHOLA: A Father Describes How He Lost His Wife, 4 Children
A bereaved father testified in the murder trial of Pastor Paul Mackenzie and 30 others at Mombasa High Court, telling a heartbreaking story that revealed the deep human suffering caused by the Shakahola tragedy.
George Okaka, the fifth witness in the case, took the stand on Monday, December 1, and relived the pain of losing nearly his entire family to Mackenzie’s Good News International Ministries.
He told the court how, in October 2025, he buried his wife and four children, victims of a journey he said began with religious devotion but ended in silence, starvation, and death.
Two of his children remain missing.
Okaka recounted how his wife’s behaviour changed drastically in the months before she left home in September 2022.
Witness tells court Shakahola victims died enroute to hospital
— Office of The Director Of Public Prosecutions (@ODPP_KE) December 1, 2025
A senior Scene-of-Crime Investigating Officer today testified before the Mombasa High Court, revealing that four of the fifteen victims rescued from Shakahola died while being transported to Malindi Hospital for… pic.twitter.com/3Md72qmAJi
She destroyed their children’s books and identification documents before accompanying them to Shakahola jungle, where Mackenzie’s followers believed that starving would lead to heaven.
He stated that the last time he heard his wife’s voice was in early 2023, when she called him and requested KSh 6,000.
Desperate to help, he obtained the funds with the help of his father-in-law, who sold a cow.
The testimony also featured a senior scene of crime investigator, Benson Ingosi, who stated that four of the fifteen patients recovered from the forest died while being transferred to the hospital.
He also provided information on his involvement in the probe.
ALSO READ:
- Kenya Met Issues Weekly Weather Forecast, Warns Nairobi & Neighbouring Counties
- Kenya Warns Its Citizens In South Africa As Anti-Immigrants Demos Pick Pace
- UDA Senator Tables Motion To Scrap Uhuru Kenyatta’s Perks As Recent Phonecall Sends Jitters To Ruto
- Alarm As WHO Announces Deadly Virus Outbreak On A Cruise Ship
- Passport Application Falls By 37% After Gov’t’s Quiet 50-Page Option Removal
“In the course of our search, we found several victims inside fasting bays, which were enclosed with thorny branches,” he noted.
Ingosi further described the discovery of decomposing bodies in several areas of Shakahola in April 2025, when he was summoned to a woodland near Langobaya.
Dr. Florence Mueni, a child psychologist, later testified in court, presenting assessments made by a team of six experts following interviews with 26 rescued children.
So far, the prosecution has presented 70 witnesses in the case involving 191 deaths, all of which are allegedly tied to Mackenzie’s religious teachings.
SHAKAHOLA: A Father Describes How He Lost His Wife, 4 Children
