'I still believe my children are alive': Father tells Shakahola court, refuses to accept child's remains

A man testifying in the ongoing Shakahola trial has told the Mombasa High Court that he still believes his four missing children are alive, despite DNA evidence linking him to one of the victims exhumed from Shakahola.

According to the Office of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), the 44-year-old witness, identified as Antony Wyclif Muhoro, appeared before the court on December 3, 2025, and shared his struggle to accept that the remains of a seven-year-old girl presented to him by the DCI in September 2023 belonged to one of his children.

DNA profiling matched him to the girl, whose remains were among those exhumed from Shakahola. Muhoro further told the court that he never visited the morgue or claimed the body, where the remains still lie.

The ODPP confirmed in court that DNA analysis and postmortem examinations established that Muhoro and his wife, Millicent Oyayi Awuor, were likely the girl’s biological parents, with a 99.99 percent match.

“Your Honour, I am a prayerful person. In my dreams, I have seen that all my children are alive,” he told the court. “My wife has also told me they are alive and asked me to visit her in prison so she can tell me where they are,” Muhoro added, remaining firm in his belief.

According to Muhoro, his wife, who is currently being held at Shimo La Tewa Prison during the ongoing trial, assured him during their brief communication that their children were safe but did not disclose their whereabouts.

The witness also recounted how, in March 2023, his wife informed him that followers of Pastor Paul Mackenzie had been warned to flee the city due to fears of election-related violence.

She claimed she was travelling to Siaya to care for her sick mother, but instead diverted to Malindi with their children, where some of Mackenzie’s followers had reportedly regrouped.

Muhoro told the court that he grew suspicious and reported his family missing at Makongeni Police Station after learning of Mackenzie’s arrest over allegations that he had been forcing his followers, including children, to fast.

A week later, authorities in Malindi Sub-county contacted him and informed him that one of the rescued victims had provided his contact details. When he arrived in Malindi, he found his wife hospitalised and unable to speak. After regaining her voice, she told him that she had left the children under the care of a woman identified only as Mama Nadia, who has never been traced.

Following the disclosure, investigators directed Muhoro to undergo DNA testing, which led to the results presented in court.

Pastor Paul Mackenzie and 29 co-accused persons are facing charges in the same court, linked to the deaths of 191 people in what the prosecution believes was a deadly cult operation.