A sombre mood enveloped Shanzu law courts as an eight-year-old boy took the witness stand to recount the harrowing experiences he endured in Shakahola forest.

Under state protection and testifying as a protected witness due to his age and the gravity of the case, the boy provided a chilling account of how he and his family were moved to the forest.

Testifying against the suspected Shakahola massacre mastermind, Paul Mackenzie, and his aides, the minor struggled to maintain his composure as he described to Shanzu Principal Magistrate Leah Juma how his mother and two siblings died of starvation, eventually being buried in a ceremony termed “Harusi” (wedding).

The boy revealed that he initially left for the forest with his father, while his mother joined them later, giving birth to his brother Amani in Shakahola. He recounted, “My mother joined us after a while. She came using a boda boda, and while in the forest, she gave birth to my brother.”

As time passed, both his mother and one of his brothers succumbed to starvation. The boy narrated how he tried to save his younger brother by feeding him dirty water.

“As he lay dying, I fetched water that had been used to wash utensils and hurriedly fed him. However, my father scolded me, saying I was preventing him from going to heaven and that God would punish me.”

Grim events

The minor continued to describe the grim events that followed.

“My baby brother was the first to die, followed by my younger brother. My father took their bodies to a hole outside our house. Mackenzie, whom I referred to as ‘Mtumishi,’ came to witness the burial and ordered us to continue fasting.”

At the time of his rescue, the boy had been starved for eight days and had resigned himself to death. “My father had bought me clothes and told me they were for dying,” he said.