MALINDI, Kenya, Aug 5 — The prosecution has opened its terrorism case against controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie and seven co-accused over the Kwa Binzaro killings, telling a Shanzu court it will rely on sixty witnesses, including protected witnesses, while adopting testimony from an earlier High Court case to prosecute allegations linked to fifty-two deaths.
The trial formally commenced before the Shanzu Law Courts on Tuesday, where Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Jami Yamina outlined the prosecution’s case against Mackenzie and seven others accused of masterminding deaths linked to extremist religious practices in Kwa Binzaro.
The prosecution said it intends to call about 60 witnesses, although that number could be revised as the trial progresses.
Among them are four protected witnesses expected to give first-hand accounts of events at the primary Kwa Binzaro crime scene, alongside relatives of missing persons believed to have died, expert witnesses, first responders, neighbours, landlords, transporters and forensic specialists.
In a significant procedural development, the prosecution successfully applied to have testimony from eighteen witnesses who had previously testified before the High Court in Criminal Case No. E006 of 2026 adopted into the current proceedings.
The application, made under Section 34 of the Evidence Act, argued that the witnesses had already testified under oath, been cross-examined by the defence and later participated in court-supervised visits to the Kwa Binzaro and Malindi crime scenes.
Senior Principal Magistrate Mwanamkuu Sudi allowed the application, directing that the testimonies, exhibits, crime scene notes, inventories and other documentary evidence form part of the trial record.
The court then heard from Chief Inspector Timothy Bett, a crime scene officer, who led forensic documentation at Kwa Binzaro pursuant to court orders.
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Bett testified that investigators discovered nineteen intact graves and five disturbed graves concealed in dense bushes about 62 kilometres from Malindi, with some human remains scattered after shallow graves were allegedly disturbed by wild animals.
He told the court that several bodies had been buried less than two feet deep and that most were interred without clothing.
The officer also produced crime scene documentation, photographs and video evidence previously presented before the High Court.
Mackenzie and his co-accused face charges of engaging in organised criminal activities.
Six of the accused are additionally charged with radicalisation, while two also face terrorism-related offences, including committing terrorist acts and possessing articles connected to offences under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
The prosecution team is led by Deputy Directors of Public Prosecutions Joseph Kimanthi and Jami Yamina, alongside Principal Prosecution Counsels Victor Owiti, Betty Rubia, Frank Sirima and Prosecution Counsel Nancy Cherop.
