Medicine student dropped out to join Makenzi as a prayer leader

"I thought it was an episode of a sleep terror when I heard them shouting after Makenzi concluded the sermon on TV against education," Wanjiku said as she fought back tears.

Ngugi and his two friends, whom Wanjiku identified only as Kamotho and Nelson, walked out of the house that night and never came back.

"Later, I learnt that he joined Good News International (GNI) church at the Gari Mbovu area in Likoni. He was given a woman to marry. The lady is way older than my son," Wanjiku said.

Little did Wanjiku know that the marriage was an initiation ceremony for the boys who had joined the cult before they embarked on a journey to Shakahola Forest for a long fast.

"His wife had a child in Standard 8. It was shocking that a young boy could marry such an old woman. I accepted the woman because I did not want to drive my son away anymore."

In Likoni, the parishioners of GNI lived in a house near the Amkeni area and worshipped in another little house in Gari Bovu. Detectives believe this is one of GNI's 'sleeper cells' activated in 2019.

Multiple interviews reveal that Ngungi was one of the most respected members of GNI's Likoni 'sleeper cell' established in 2017 but came active after Makenzi closed the main church in Malindi.

Wanjiku said her son was chosen to lead prayers and give sermons in Likoni because he could read the Bible in English and Swahili, and interpret it in strict compliance to Makenzi's doctrine.

"The day Ngugi came to bid farewell and introduce his wife to me, he said I cannot accompany them because I'm an infidel or not saved enough to join them where they were going," she said.

Like other cases of the people who went to Shakahola, Wanjiku said it is unclear how and when her son and his new wife exactly travelled to Shakahola. She said Ngugi told her they were going to Hola, Tana River.

One of the accounts claims all the GNI faithful boarded a single matatu from Mombasa's Buxton stage. Others say they dispersed and travelled in different buses to Malindi to avoid being detected by security teams.

"I sat where my son and all those rescued were being interrogated for four days, and I can tell you they may have taken an oath of secrecy or silence. They have the same story," said Wanjiku.

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"At the beginning of this year, we started fasting. It became very painful seeing my children subjected to continuous fasting. I wanted to leave but I couldn't do it," she said.

Lost identity

She was rescued on Tuesday last week with her three children and treated for malnutrition at the Malindi sub-county hospital. She hails from Umbra village in Msambweni, Kwale county.

"We were not allowed to mingle with anyone from the outside world. We were told this will deny us a chance to go to heaven," she said, according to a detective.

Another victim who identified himself only as Mkawasi from Mwatate said Makenzi's disciples ordered them to destroy all documents given by the government, including national IDs and birth certificates. By Saturday, a multiagency team combing the Shakahola forest had retrieved 179 bodies, and rescued 25 people.

The government says Makenzi's indoctrination was incendiary and that he asked his followers to abandon earthly life, and meet at his 800-acre farm in Shakahola village for a fast "to meet Jesus".

Detectives say he controlled sleeper cells that targeted people in Mombasa, Kwale, Kilifi, Taita Taveta, Nairobi, Central and Western regions.

Another victim who told detectives that she used to work in a tourist hotel said they were instructed to quit their jobs, drop out of school, and stop feeding on "worldly food". She said they met on Saturdays under a tree from 9am to 5pm for life lessons.

Due to the hidden nature of Shakahola forest, local leaders say they couldn't smell the rat early enough until things got out of hand.

The place is so remote that when the police arrived they had to slash shrubs and bushes to reach the site with more than 80 graves. he rescue began on April 13 after two children were reportedly starved and suffocated to death by their parents on March 16 and 17.

According to the autopsy reports some of the cult members were either strangled, hit by blunt objects on their heads, or starved to death.

Titus Katana, a former member of the church, is now helping detectives with the investigations and exhumation of bodies in Shakahola forest. He left the church due to differences over new restrictions.