A defense witness in the ongoing Shakahola massacre trial has confessed to participating in burials within the forest settlement, testifying that he believed he was following the religious group’s spiritual mandates.
Taking the stand at the Mombasa High Court, Steven Ngugi, one of the accused, admitted to digging graves and burying members of the community who died in Shakahola. He maintained that he performed these tasks in “good faith” as a devoted follower of the religious movement.
During a cross-examination before Justice Diana Kavedza, prosecutors from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) pressed Ngugi on the circumstances surrounding the deaths. He admitted that he had no way of determining the actual cause of death for the individuals he buried.
Ngugi revealed that his deep commitment to the group’s doctrine prompted him to abandon his university education and move to Shakahola in 2023, where he bought a plot of land for KSh 1,500. He described an uncompromising belief system that rejected formal schooling, modern medicine, and various aspects of contemporary life, labeling them as obstacles to their spiritual path.
The witness testified that extreme, prolonged fasting served as a cornerstone of the group’s daily life. He shared his personal experience with the practice, admitting that he eventually required emergency hospital treatment for severe dehydration after going without food and water for an extended period.
In a chilling look at the group’s internal language, Ngugi explained that members never used the word “death” to describe those who perished in the settlement. Instead, they referred to these events as “weddings,” rooted in the belief that followers were simply transitioning to a higher spiritual plane.
He further noted that the community relied on coded phrases to manage their rituals; for instance, members used the terms “kupanda mlima” (climbing the mountain) and “kushuka mlima” (descending the mountain) to signal the start and conclusion of their fasting cycles.
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