Kwa Binzaro Massacre Trial: Prisoner’s SIM Card Linked to Paul Mackenzie’s Phone

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 28 — A Safaricom SIM card registered to a prisoner serving a 50-year sentence at Shimo La Tewa Maximum Security Prison was allegedly used in a mobile phone linked to controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie, the Mombasa High Court has heard.

The revelation emerged during the ongoing trial of Mackenzie and seven co-accused persons over the Kwa Binzaro massacre in Kilifi County, where the remains of 28 people were exhumed from shallow graves.

The court heard that the SIM card belonged to Kalume Kitsao Rimba, 41, who is serving a 50-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to drug trafficking in 2024.

Testifying before Justice Wendy Kagendo, Rimba admitted retaining SIM cards while in prison but denied using them to make calls or conduct mobile money transactions.

He also denied having any direct association with Mackenzie, saying he only knew the preacher through media reports about the Shakahola deaths.

Led in his testimony by Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Frankline Sirima, Rimba said he had registered five Safaricom numbers in his name to build his M-Shwari portfolio and access mobile loans.

He maintained that the numbers had been registered legitimately.

Rimba told the court that prison officers searched his cell on September 20, 2025, and recovered two Bibles containing handwritten papers bearing names and telephone contacts.

He said officers later informed him that one of his SIM cards had been used to transfer money to Mackenzie, who is also being held at Shimo La Tewa prison.

A further search conducted the following day led to the recovery of two SIM cards, which Rimba said he had retained since his arrest in March 2024.

Although he denied using the cards while in prison, Rimba disclosed that he had occasionally lent one to a fellow inmate, Charles Kalume, when the latter borrowed money from him to make telephone calls.

He added that Kalume would also borrow mobile phone handsets from other inmates.

The possession of unauthorised mobile phones and SIM cards by prisoners is prohibited under prison regulations.

The prosecution told the court that Mackenzie used mobile numbers registered in other people’s names to communicate with his co-accused.

According to the prosecution, the communications allegedly involved instructions to intensify doomsday preaching and encourage followers in Kwa Binzaro to fast, resulting in deaths.

The allegations form part of the prosecution’s case against Mackenzie and the seven co-accused persons in the Kwa Binzaro murder trial.

Mackenzie was recently convicted alongside 28 co-accused persons in connection with the Shakahola massacre, in which 191 people, including 190 children, died.

The court also heard testimony from prison officers James Mnjala and Sergeant Stanislous Bongo Chikuta regarding searches conducted at Shimo La Tewa Maximum Security Prison.

Mnjala told the court that officers carried out surprise searches targeting inmates, including suspects in the Shakahola murder cases, after receiving intelligence that prohibited items were being kept in prison cells.

The searches resulted in the recovery of plastic containers, boxes, nails, a mobile phone and ropes from different cells. Another officer recovered a separate Itel handset during the operation.

Chikuta, the 50th prosecution witness, testified that impromptu searches conducted on August 30 and September 19, 2025, led to the recovery of mobile phones and SIM cards from inmates.

He further told the court that on September 20, 2025, he witnessed Directorate of Criminal Investigations officers searching Mackenzie’s cell, where they recovered a notebook, handwritten notes and a Bible.

According to Chikuta, the notebook contained telephone numbers and identification details recorded under the name of prosecution witness Emily Achieng, who testified virtually from Kisumu.

The hearing is ongoing before the Mombasa High Court.