The manslaughter case against Pastor Paul Mackenzie and 94 others continued on Tuesday, March 25, with the prosecution presenting its 30th witness.

Jimmy Mganga told the Shanzu Law Courts in Mombasa that the last time he spoke with his father was when Mackenzie was arrested.

“I spoke to my father on Friday and asked him to leave Shakahola since their leader was arrested. He told me he would come back on Monday and then ended the call,” the 33-year-old witness recounted.

Mganga also informed the court that he had provided a DNA sample but had not received any updates on the whereabouts of his parents and three sisters.

According to the witness, his father, who had built a branch of the Good News International Ministry in their home, had stopped sending two of his siblings to school.

“When I realised my two siblings weren’t going to school, I reported the matter to the Ministry of Education, and my father was arrested and charged in Malindi Court. He was later released on a KSh10,000 bond,” he told the court, adding that he later found out that Mackenzie himself had paid the bond, and after his release, the family turned against him, accusing him of trying to imprison his father.

The witness also claimed that when his father went to Shakahola, he told them he was going there to buy a piece of land. Upon arriving, he came back to take his three sisters with him, leaving Jimmy and two brothers behind.

Jimmy further reported that Mackenzie was a friend of his father and would often visit their home to check on him.

He also revealed that he had attended Mackenzie’s church in 2009 but left when the preacher discouraged followers from attending school, calling it ungodly.

“My siblings were in class three and form four when they dropped out of school, and I didn’t agree with that,” Jimmy said.

The witness mentioned that he visited his father in Shakahola three times, but during those visits, there was no farming taking place. He later learned that Mackenzie had constructed dams in the area. The witness also informed the court that Pastor Mackenzie presided over the wedding of his parents in 2014 and issued them a marriage certificate.

He further told the court that he was not in a good relationship with his father after he reported him to the Ministry of Education, and when he went to Shakahola, he warned him not to look for him. Jimmy concluded by stating that the last time he saw his father, mother, and three sisters was in 2023.