Parents recount horror of losing children to Shakahola cult

Mr Sephania Otieno Ogunda a witness in Shakahola case broke down in court as he recounted how his daughter, Bella Faith Otieno, sold her property before leaving their family home to join the Good News International Church in Kilifi.

“She sent me a sealed envelope through a former member. Inside was an instruction to sell a piece of land and keep the money. When I called her, she said it was to spread the word of God because the world was coming to an end,” Mr Ogunda told the court.

Ms Bella’s two daughters, Liza Agatha,17, and Joy Ouma,7, later died of starvation in the Shakahola forest, the court was told.

Mr Ogunda traced their whereabouts only after a woman who escaped from the cult revealed that they had remained behind.

Similarly, Mr Ernest Vedasto Mwombeki, a Tanzanian national, shared the pain of losing his three(3) children.

His wife, Judith Assery Mwandary, a co-accused, had taken their children--Nikson Kaijuge,10, Victor Kamugisha,7, and Rwegasira Ernest,2--to Kenya after becoming engrossed in Mackenzie’s apocalyptic sermons aired on Times TV.

“All three of my children died in the forest. Losing them in such a manner is painful and difficult to explain,” Mr Mwombeki said, his voice breaking.

DNA analysis later confirmed the body of his eldest son, Nikson.

Both parents told the court how Mackenzie’s teachings forbade education and medical care, leaving their children vulnerable.

Mr Ogunda said the church had manipulated Ms Bella into abandoning her responsibilities, while Mr Mwombeki described how his wife had previously been arrested in Nairobi for withdrawing the children from school, only to later return to Kenya with them.

The testimony highlighted the devastating human cost of blind faith and extremist manipulation.

Chief Inspector Joseph Kolum is expected to testify on Thursday about mobile phone communications between Mackenzie and his followers, shedding further light on the cult’s operations.

The courtroom was heavy with grief as families relived the trauma, offering a chilling reminder of the Shakahola tragedy and the lives lost under Mackenzie’s control.