Mackenzie told Shakahola followers to reject hospitals, Court hears

The High Court in Mombasa has examined evidence that Good News International Church leader Paul Nthenge Mackenzie discouraged followers from seeking medical care, portraying doctors as killers, vaccines as dangerous, and hospital treatment as contrary to religious faith.

Survivors also testified to the consequences of following the teachings in Shakahola Forest.

In her judgment concerning Mackenzie and 30 co-accused facing 191 murder charges, Lady Justice Diana Kavedza-Mochache examined recordings and survivor testimony detailing teachings against vaccination, antenatal care and hospital treatment.

The findings form part of the wider Shakahola tragedy, which came to national attention in April 2023 after authorities discovered mass graves in Shakahola Forest, Kilifi County.

Hundreds of bodies were subsequently recovered as investigators examined allegations that followers had been subjected to extreme religious teachings, including starvation in anticipation of meeting Jesus.

Good News International Church, founded by Mackenzie, attracted followers through religious teachings that increasingly came under scrutiny over alleged rejection of formal education, conventional healthcare and other institutions considered incompatible with the preacher's interpretation of scripture.

The court examined recordings presented by witness PW106, which allegedly showed a sustained campaign against modern medicine, beginning with childhood immunisation and extending to treatment in hospitals.

In recording C19, Mackenzie reportedly criticised government vaccination programmes and recounted the case of a follower who had been imprisoned for refusing polio vaccination.

He subsequently declared that his children would never be vaccinated, maintaining that the life of Jesus was sufficient to preserve and sustain life without medical intervention.

The court interpreted the statement as an indication that Mackenzie would not permit his children to receive vaccinations, regardless of government intervention.

The teachings extended beyond immunisation to attacks on medical professionals and pharmaceutical companies.

In the same recording, Mackenzie allegedly described doctors working in hospitals as witches and killers, while claiming that pharmaceutical companies were controlled by the Illuminati and Freemasons.

He further portrayed medicines as instruments intended to turn people away from God.

In recording C20, Mackenzie reportedly told followers that vaccines were intended to introduce diseases and kill generations, while doctors and scientists were being used to implement what he described as the agenda of the Beast.

The court also examined recording C29, in which followers were allegedly instructed to reject antenatal care.

According to the evidence, Mackenzie taught that God, rather than medical practitioners, determined how a chosen believer should give birth. Hospitals were portrayed as traps for those considered God's chosen people.

The teachings further suggested that seeking medical treatment demonstrated a lack of faith, while sickness was presented as a spiritual trial to be endured through prayer.

The court heard that the message was reinforced by associate pastor George Mwaura, who preached that, “Maisha mazuri kwa mteule ni mateso” — meaning that suffering was part of the life of a chosen believer.

Mackenzie's teachings allegedly went further by presenting death from illness as preferable to seeking medical intervention.

The court examined the statement, “Kifo kwa mteule ni faida; afadhali ufe ukiwa umeshika neno la Mungu,” which conveyed the message that death could be preferable for a chosen believer who remained faithful to God's word.

The teachings were reportedly supported by selective interpretations of biblical passages.

Jeremiah 17:5 was invoked to discourage reliance on human beings, while James 5:14 was used to encourage prayer and anointing by church elders instead of hospital treatment.

Luke 8:43 was cited to portray physicians as financially exploitative and ineffective.

The practical consequences emerged through survivor testimony. Witnesses PW2348 and PW11, among others, testified that the Shakahola settlement lacked essential health facilities and that followers were expected to rely on faith in Jesus when they fell ill.

One particularly troubling account concerned a woman identified as PWHBMN, who delivered her seventh child in Shakahola without the necessary medical assistance.

The court heard that she was subsequently supervised by Mary Kazo to ensure she did not breastfeed the child, who died on the 12th day.

The evidence highlighted the vulnerability of women and children living in the settlement, where teachings against conventional healthcare could prevent access to potentially life-saving treatment.

The court's examination of the recordings and survivor accounts formed part of its assessment of the religious teachings and their consequences in the case against Mackenzie and his co-accused.