Four more witnesses testified on Tuesday in the ongoing Kwa Binzaro manslaughter case against Pastor Paul Mackenzie and his co-accused, Shallyne Temba, Kahindi Garama, Tom Mkonwe, Julius Luwali and Johnson Richard, who are jointly facing 29 counts of manslaughter.
The prosecution presented its 27th witness, Julius Charo, who testified virtually before Senior Principal Magistrate Eric Wambo at the Mombasa Law Courts.
Charo told the court that his brother, Harrison, was a preacher at Good News International Church, led by Pastor Paul Mackenzie, and regularly attended the church with his family.
He testified that concerns began to arise after Harrison embraced teachings discouraging children from attending school and instructing followers not to seek hospital treatment when ill, claiming it was against God’s will.
According to Charo, these teachings caused frequent disagreements between Harrison and his wife.
Charo further testified that Harrison later purchased land in Shakahola and relocated there with his family.
He told the court that he made three separate trips to Shakahola in search of his brother but was unable to find him.
During one of the visits, he met Pastor Mackenzie and inquired about Harrison’s whereabouts but did not receive any information.
He said that on his third visit, accompanied by his brother and sister, they were informed that an exhumation exercise was underway and were turned back by the police.
They were directed to the Kenya Red Cross help desk for further assistance after reports emerged that people were dying in Shakahola.
In 2025, Charo told the court that he received a phone call informing him that his brother had been spotted in Malindi in the company of another woman.
He testified that he traveled to the location in an attempt to find him but was informed that they had already relocated to Kwa Binzaro.
Charo later received a call from officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), informing him that DNA samples he had provided matched one of the bodies recovered during the Kwa Binzaro exhumations, which was believed to be that of his brother, Harrison.
The court also heard testimony from Caroline Adhiambo, who appeared virtually. She told the court that she is married to Samuel Owino and that they had six children.
Adhiambo testified that her husband became a follower of Pastor Mackenzie’s teachings after regularly watching Times TV, where he was allegedly taught that children should not attend school and that sick people should not seek medical treatment because doing so was against God’s plan.
She said that as a result, her husband stopped paying school fees for their children, leaving her to shoulder the responsibility alone.
The witness further testified that in 2025, her husband informed her that he was traveling to Homa Bay to resolve family land issues.
However, he left with two of their children, never returned home, became unreachable by phone, and she has not seen them since.
She reported the matter to the police as a missing persons case.
Later, she received information that her husband had traveled to Mombasa aboard a Nyamira Express bus with their two children. After confirming the travel details at the bus station, she suspected they had proceeded to Shakahola.
Adhiambo further told the court that on 19 July 2025, she received a phone call from a man identified as Paul Atieno, informing her that a body matching her husband’s description had been found.
Upon viewing the image, she confirmed that it was indeed her husband’s body.
The court also heard virtual testimony from two additional prosecution witnesses, Simon Cheya and Vivian Maleghua.
The matter will continue on Thursday with further prosecution witnesses expected to testify.
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