Mackenzie operated ‘ruthless and efficient’ criminal enterprise, DPP tells court

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on Monday narrated to a Shanzu court how controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie operated a “ruthless and efficient” criminal enterprise that led to the death of at least 500 people in Shakahola Forest.

Senior Principal Magistrate Leah Juma heard that the group, organized under the guise of a church led by Mackenzie, was not a mere fringe organization but a well-structured entity.

The DPP stated that the militia-like group conducted systematic massacres through a sophisticated governance system, complete with communication, transportation networks, and security measures to enforce Mackenzie’s ruthless directives.

The prosecution will lineup 90 witnesses to provide a detailed account of the bloodbath that occurred in the secluded and expansive Shakahola Forest.

Senior Assistant DPP Jami Yamina disclosed that numerous pieces of real and documentary evidence, including electronic and digital forms, will be presented.

The prosecution also plans to introduce cybercrime reports and expert opinions to demonstrate the physical and emotional abuse stemming from the extremist ideology promoted by the group.

The court further heard that Mackenzie and his deputy, Smart Deri Mwakalama, were the primary orchestrators of the brutal murder and slaughter of vulnerable women and children.

The prosecution stated that witnesses, some of whom are vulnerable and under protection, will describe how the accused exercised firm control over the group’s activities.

“Throughout the presentation of evidence to support the charges, witnesses will recount incidents that establish facts which are explanatory, introductory, show a common intention or motive, or are caused by other facts, demonstrating a pattern relevant to the trial,” stated Yamina.

“Testimonies will reveal their acceptance of the fate advocated for and embraced as a transcendent state of blissful and heroic transition to spiritual realms, albeit through actions classified as either murder or manslaughter,” he added.

The prosecution team further requested that the court consider conducting a site visit to Shakahola Forest or adopt scientific reports that reconstruct the crime scene while assuring of watertight evidence to place all 95 accused individuals at the center of the Shakahola massacre.

Mackenzie was charged alongside 94 others with engaging in organized criminal activity, radicalization and facilitating the Commission of a Terrorist Act in Shakahola forest, Kilifi County.