By S, KNA
The confessed Shakahola massacre suspect, Enos Amanya Ngala alias “Haleluya”, on Tuesday broke down before a Mombasa court as he narrated how his six children died during the 2019 starvation tragedy linked to Good News International Church in Shakahola forest, Kilifi County.
Testifying before Mombasa Chief Magistrate Alex Ithuku, the 51-year-old accused told the court that his children succumbed to the prolonged fasting allegedly decreed by church leader Paul Mackenzie, who urged followers to fast to meet Jesus.
Amanya is among 95 accused persons, including Mackenzie, facing 283 counts of manslaughter arising from the deaths of 429 people whose bodies were exhumed from shallow graves in Shakahola forest.
He identified his deceased children as Snider Dorcus, 23, Rayson Amanya, 19, Eda Mtishibi, 13, Apron Joshua, 9, and Starco Joshua, 7. He told the court that his only surviving daughter, Israel Veronica, later testified against him and her mother, Anne Anyoso Alukhwe, and now lives and works in Malindi town.
Amanya said strict fasting was enforced inside the forest settlement and that women were ordered to stop breastfeeding to hasten the deaths of young children. He testified that armed guards carrying bows, arrows, machetes and rocks patrolled the area to prevent followers from leaving.
Those who resisted fasting were allegedly detained or tied up, while children who disobeyed instructions were confined and punished.
He further told the court that he participated in digging graves and conducting burials during day and night shifts under Mackenzie’s supervision. Bodies were buried in shallow graves and covered with black soil before crops such as maize and beans were planted to conceal the sites.
According to Amanya, Mackenzie personally supervised some of the burials and instructed followers on how to avoid detection by government authorities. Meetings were held under trees where directives were issued, including instructions to mislead officials about activities within the forest.
The court also heard that Amanya sold property in Nairobi and contributed money towards the purchase of land at Shakahola. He testified that he remitted Sh95, 000 to Mackenzie and Sh100,000 to Good News International deputy pastor George Mwaura, but did not receive ownership documents.
He stated that Sh65,000 was allegedly for land purchase, Sh16,000 for an external hard disk containing sermons, and Sh14,000 for milk for Mackenzie’s children as appreciation. He claimed that despite the payments, he did not receive a plot at the settlement.
Amanya told the court that he joined Good News International Church in May 2019 after watching a sermon on Times TV. He said teachings discouraging formal education, medical treatment and mainstream religion influenced him and his family.
He attended more than ten seminars and crusades in Eldoret, where books and compact discs containing Mackenzie’s teachings were sold before relocating his wife, seven children and his younger brother, David Ambwaya, to Malindi and later to Shakahola forest.
He testified that during the Covid-19 pandemic, followers were encouraged to withdraw their children from school and isolate themselves in preparation for what was described as the end times.
The hearing was adjourned to today (Wednesday). The prosecution team comprises Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Jami Yamina, Principal Prosecution Counsels Alex Ndiema, Victor Owiti and Betty Rubia, and Prosecution Counsel Yassir Mohamed.