The hearing of the manslaughter case against cult preacher Paul Mackenzie and his co-accused persons enters its third day today.
The Mombasa magistrate's court will today hear the testimony of the fourth witness who is expected to take to the stand.
On Tuesday, the second and the third witnesses who are among Mackenzie's followers narrated to the court how the first group arrived at Shakahola in October 2020.
They were transported in a lorry.
The witness said Mackenzie had informed his followers in September that year that a piece of land had been secured at Chakama Ranch.
He instructed them to sell their belongings and relocate to Shakahola.
A 17-year-old witness, who was secretly withdrawn from school in Eldoret by her mother without her father’s knowledge, recounted that they were allocated two acres for a fee of Sh1,500.
On the day they arrived in Shakahola, men and women were housed separately in makeshift tents.
The following day, each follower was assigned their parcel of land.
The hearing began on Monday, August 12 with the first witness whose identity remains protected taking to the stand in a closed session.
The Director of Public Prosecutions has prepared 90 witnesses in the case.
The charges against Mackenzie and his 94 co-accused persons stem from the bizarre incidents of the Shakahola deaths where the bodies of more than 400 people were retrieved from shallow graves in the forest in Kilifi.
The state pressed charges against Mackenzie who was the leader of the cult that is believed to have persuaded most of the victims to fast to their deaths.
