Unsettling Disappearance: Nandi Family’s Anguish in Shakahola Cult
Three years ago, four members of a Nandi family are believed to have gone to Shakahola in Kilifi County for religious services.
Three school-aged brothers and their uncle left their home, telling their family that they were going to “Jerusalem to meet Jesus” — the infamous Shakahola forest, where dozens of members of a death cult have perished.
Mr. Morris Yimbo’s family in the Nandi Central sub-county has suffered sleepless nights for the past three years over the disappearance of his three sons, two of whom were in primary school and one of whom was in secondary school. Their paternal uncle lured them away from home.
After learning that Mr. Yimbo’s sons and younger brother had joined Paul Mackenzie’s cult in Kilifi, Mr. Yimbo’s family began searching for them. They believe that the four have perished.
Mr. Yimbo’s brother, Wycliffe Omondi, told the family in 2020 that he was going to ‘Jerusalem’ to meet Jesus in the notorious Shakahola forest, where over a hundred bodies have been exhumed.
Mr. Yimbo told GossipA2Z, “The family was unconcerned by Omondi’s decision to change his religious affiliation, as he was an adult.”
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“However, months later, he returned home and introduced the cultic beliefs to the children without my knowledge,” Mr. Yimbo explained.
Since then, the family has been awaiting the four’s return to the village of Kiptuiya.
Their silence has left the family in agonizing pain, and Mr. Yimbo and others now have a strong suspicion that they may have been among those who perished in the Shakahola massacre.
In 2020, when schools in Kenya were closed for nine months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Omondi, then 30 years old, and one of Yimbo’s sons, Vincent Lianda, 21, vanished from their home in Nandi.
The family notified the police of the incident.
Eventually, the two were located in Taita Taveta County. The group then traveled to Mombasa before entering the Shakahola forest.
Two months later, in 2021, Omondi and Liandi returned to their home, restoring the family’s disillusionment. Mr. Yimbo stated that they appeared frail and emaciated.
Relief momentary
However, the family’s relief was short-lived, as the two disappeared once more, this time accompanied by Yimbo’s other sons, Godwin Maxwell, 17, and Collins Lijodi, 14.
The family located them and confirmed that they were in Shakahola.
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Maxwell and Lijodi were students at the Bara Ogwal primary school in Kisumu County. While Lianda was in Form Two at the Bara Ogwal secondary school.
Mr. Yimbo described how the family became exasperated. Each time they pleaded with the children to return home and return to school, but the children always refused.
Mr. Yimbo told GossipA2Z, “The family petitioned them to return home and report back to school, but they refused, saying they had devoted their lives to their final journey in heaven and education would be of no use in the new world in heaven.”
Their mobile phones would be on and off.
They would only call home when they required financial assistance. And would turn off the phones as soon as they received the funds.
Mr. Yimbo and other family members traveled to the Shakahola market center after the 2022 General Election. Where they camped for several weeks in search of his brother and sons.
They reported the missing family members at the Shakahola police station. Where they were connected with local administrators who assisted them in locating their loved ones.
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Mr. Yimbo asserted, “I displayed a photograph of the three missing children while at Shakahola, and some individuals recognized them and claimed they had been murdered in the forest by Mackenzie’s men manning the forest.”
However, the family was unable to locate their graves and, out of concern for their safety, did not pursue the matter further.
Mr. Yimbo reported to the police, but he received no assistance.
The family has a strong belief that all four were either murdered or starved.
GossipA2Z has learned that Yimbo’s family has submitted DNA samples and is awaiting the results. Which could reveal whether any of their relatives are among the 133 recovered bodies.
The family accuses the police of indifference and tardiness. In arresting Mackenzie and his associates, while ignoring reports from families of missing persons.
Unsettling Disappearance: Nandi Family’s Anguish in Shakahola Cult
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