A year later, Shakahola villagers confront struggles after tragedy

Before it shot to infamy following the deaths of more than 450 faithful of Good News International (GNI) of suspected cult leader Paul Makenzi, the Shakahola area in Malindi, Kilifi County was buzzing with development and business activities.

Land prices had shot up, trade in small urban centres boomed and its forest established itself as a religious shrine for the renowned Mijikenda Kaya elders and Christians from far and wide.

Shakahola is the shining light in the expansive Chakama Forest of Malindi, Kilifi. The area was fast growing due to its proximity to the national Galana Kulalu food project and its position along the tourism circuit.

Many locals had were doing business and investors from all over the country had begun flocking to the area as well as tourists on their way to Tsavo East National Park frequently made stopovers at Baolala centre, a nearby town bordering Shakahola forest.

Residents were beaming with hope of changing fortunes on the morning of April 19, 2023. In the afternoon of the next day, darkness befell Shakahola after mass graves were discovered in the area.

It’s early on Sunday morning and Pastor Philip Fondo is offering a prayer as the few worshipers close their eyes. The message in the prayers is what has dominated everyone’s thoughts since April 20, 2023.

“We cast out the devil that befell this palace,” prayed Fondo of Christian Power Center, who lamented how the church has lost the proverbial salt as the number of worshipers dwindled.

In his words, the devil has pulled God’s people away from his presence, and those who thronged the area for spiritual nourishment questioned fearing that they fell to teachings similar to those of Makenzi.

Villagers in Shakahola said that a chain of events led most of them to turn away from the church. Most of them say they now pray in the house as they have lost faith in the men of God.

‘’I believe in God, but not ‘Men of God,” said James Kalama, a former member of Neema Baptist Church.

Other residents like Jumwa Charo, who planned to sell part of the expansive land to get the capital to develop the other part, but waited for the surging prices to go even higher, are stunned at how they have plummeted.   

“Some of the land buyers now consider the area as an evil field, prices have tanked. No one wants to buy the land in this area anymore,” said Charo, a resident of Shakahola.

Before the activities of the cult were exposed, an acre of land in Shakahola had shot up from a paltry Sh10,000 to between Sh350,000 and Sh500,000.

In Mombasa, Shadrack Baya Yaa told a court that he sold Makenzi 10,000 acres of land four years ago at Sh50,000.

Yaa said he sold the land to get capital to expand his business at the Lango Baya trading centre, near Shakahola. He said after the self-proclaimed pastor settled in the area, his business thrived.

“I was surprised that after Makenzi built his church in the place, my business improved. In 2021, after Makenzi came, I started seeing new faces. Some of them were clean and saved while women had long dresses which was unusual in my village,” he said.

He, however, said that in 2023, things started changing because no more people were coming to the shop. Mr Yaa’s business is on the brink of closing down due to a lack of customers.

Mr Samson Zia, the Member of County Assembly (MCA) said once-celebrated economic prosperity in Shakahola village is gone. The small centres that have sprouted up are shells.

“The cult deaths led to more depopulation, falling property values, and neighborhood decline. The Shakahola massacre did not hurt only the church but social and economic activities of the area,” said Zia.

Mr Safari Mwakiru, who used to earn a living through burning charcoal inside the forest for the over 2,0000 GNI church members who lived or visited Shakahola, said his business is now dead.

“I now live much of my life poor. My opportunities were taken from me and my community. Shakahola village is empty. It’s a deserted ghetto,” said Mwakiru.

Since Chakama Ranch was declared a crime scene by the state, many families like Safari’s now struggle to earn a living. Mr Joseph Katana, who used to grill chicken at Baolala centre, is about to close shop.

“I have struggled to keep my business afloat. Before, tourists would stop by this town while heading to Tsavo, but they no longer want to associate themselves with this community anymore,” he said.

Mr Katana said he used to make at least Sh2,800 a day and now barely makes Sh200 because drivers of the tour vans do not want to associate themselves with anything from the market.

Almost two years since the massacre was discovered by the locals, even those who lost their loved ones to the cult, want closure so that the villagers can rise from the ashes.

“It has been nearly two years and it’s as if the massacre happened yesterday. It is still an open wound and we request that justice is swiftly administered so that we can close the matter,” said Priscilar Riziki.

Ms Riziki’s daughter and three grandchildren joined the cult and fasted to death. Some 488 bodies have been retrieved from the shallow graves inside the Shakahola forest.

The Kenya Red Cross says at least 600 people are still missing. Makenzi and his wife are among the 92 people facing charges over the death of the 488 people. Two suspects died while in police custody.

“This is a ghost village with nothing to celebrate,” Shukurani Mangi, one of the grave diggers.

Shukurani believes that more bodies are buried inside the forest. Autopsies on the bodies showed deaths from starvation, strangulation, suffocation, and injuries sustained from blunt objects.

Yesterday, Makenzi’s brother, Mbatha Makenzi, said that while the controversial pastor was generous to his followers, he never treated his extended family with similar kindness.

“My brother was like a politician who has sweet tongues. People believe him. He was not as generous to his family as to his followers,” said Mbatha, who lives in Malindi.