Shakahola Victims' Families Fear Mackenzie Could Haunt Them from Prison

As self-proclaimed pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie awaits sentencing over the Shakahola massacre, families of the victims fear he could continue spreading his teachings even from prison.

One of the grieving parents, Stephen Mwiti, says all six of his children died in Shakahola Forest, where his wife took them in 2022.

Mwiti is now calling for Mackenzie and his co-accused, including his wife, to be held in solitary confinement if jailed, arguing that they could influence other inmates through their religious teachings.

Speaking to Reuters while visiting the grave of his son Samuel in Malindi, Mwiti said no sentence would bring back his children.

Samuel, who was approximately seven years old when he entered the forest, was the only one of Mwiti's six children whose remains could be positively identified.

Authorities recovered more than 400 bodies from Shakahola Forest, but managed to identify only 26 victims due to the condition of the remains.

Prosecutors accused Mackenzie of directing his followers to starve themselves and their children to death in pursuit of salvation, ahead of an alleged prediction that the world would end.

However, Mackenzie denied forcing anyone to fast, while most of his co-accused, including Mwiti's wife, denied the charges.

Questioning the defence's position, Mwiti argued that children could not have independently consented to the dangerous fasting practices.

Concerns over the continued spread of Mackenzie's teachings have also emerged following reports that some followers continued promoting his ideology after his arrest.

Last year, authorities discovered additional bodies in a neighbouring village, which they linked to the religious movement.

Mackenzie and 28 co-accused were convicted of 191 murder counts last month and are expected to be sentenced on Friday, November 6, 2026. They could face the death penalty, although Kenya has not carried out an execution in decades.

For Mwiti, however, the loss remains deeply personal, with memories of his children preserved through photographs and their former school uniforms.