The prosecution has presented three witnesses in the murder trial against controversial preacher Paul Nthenge Mackenzie and seven co-accused over the alleged killing of 28 people at Kwa Binzaro in Kilifi County.
The hearing continued this week at the Mombasa Law Courts, where the prosecution is seeking to strengthen its case, with more than 10 witnesses lined up to testify during the week.
One of the witnesses, Kisumu resident Emily Achieng, told the court that DCI officers informed her in 2025 that her national identity card number had allegedly been used to register mobile phone numbers operated by a person in Kilifi for unlawful purposes.
Achieng said she was unaware that her identification details had been used and maintained that she had never visited Kilifi. She told the court she only learnt about Mackenzie through television.
Another witness, Anti-Terrorism Police Unit officer Alfred Kipchumba, testified that he and three colleagues arrested four of the accused during a night operation at a rented apartment in Bamburi Mtopanga.
He said officers seized mobile phones and SIM cards during the operation.
The third witness, National Registration Bureau fingerprint examiner Filbart Niwa, had his sworn statement from another case against the accused adopted as his evidence-in-chief, with the consent of the prosecution and defence.
Mackenzie and his co-accused face murder charges over the alleged killings at Kwa Binzaro, located about four kilometres from Shakahola. They also face manslaughter charges at the Mombasa Law Courts and radicalisation charges at the Shanzu Law Courts.
The trial comes a week after Mackenzie and 28 co-accused were convicted in the Shakahola massacre case involving the deaths of 191 people, including 190 children.
The Kwa Binzaro case is scheduled to continue tomorrow, with six witnesses expected to testify.