A man testifying in the ongoing Shakahola massacre trial has emotionally told the Mombasa High Court that he still believes his four missing children are alive—despite scientific evidence linking him to the remains of one of the young victims exhumed from the Shakahola forest.
According to the Office of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), the witness, 44-year-old Antony Wyclif Muhoro, appeared before Justice hearing the case on December 3, 2025. Muhoro recounted his struggle to accept the findings, saying he could not believe that the remains of a seven-year-old girl presented to him by detectives in September 2023 belonged to his child.
DNA profiling conducted by government forensic experts showed a 99.99 percent match, indicating that Muhoro and his wife, Millicent Oyayi Awuor, were almost certainly the girl’s biological parents. Despite this, Muhoro said he never visited the morgue or claimed the remains, which continue to lie uncollected.
“Your Honour, I am a prayerful person. In my dreams, I have seen that all my children are alive,” he testified. He added that his wife, who is currently being held at Shimo La Tewa Prison as the trial continues, reassured him during their brief communication that the children were safe but did not disclose their location.
“She told me to visit her so she can tell me where they are,” he said, maintaining his belief that they survived.
How His Children Ended Up Linked to the Shakahola Tragedy
Muhoro told the court that in March 2023, his wife informed him that followers of controversial Good News International Church leader Pastor Paul Mackenzie had been advised to flee major towns due to fears of post-election violence. She claimed she was traveling to Siaya County to care for her ailing mother but instead travelled to Malindi with their four children—where Mackenzie’s followers were reportedly regrouping after the first wave of arrests.
When Muhoro learned of Mackenzie’s arrest over allegations that he coerced his followers, including children, to fast to death, he became suspicious and reported his family missing at Makongeni Police Station.
A week later, authorities in Malindi Sub-county contacted him, saying one of the rescued survivors had given his phone number. When he arrived, he found his wife hospitalized and weak. After recovering her voice, she told him she had left the children under the care of a woman known only as “Mama Nadia,” who has never been traced.
It was following this disclosure that detectives asked Muhoro to undergo DNA testing—tests that now form part of the evidence before the court.
Where the Case Stands
Pastor Paul Mackenzie and 29 co-accused persons face multiple charges related to the deaths of 191 people, believed to have been victims of a cult operation that encouraged followers to starve themselves in order to “meet Jesus.”
The Shakahola trial continues to reveal harrowing accounts from families still searching for answers, as well as survivors grappling with trauma. Muhoro’s testimony highlights the ongoing emotional toll on affected families—many of whom still hold out hope that their missing loved ones may be found alive.
