Ex-GSU officer’s death confirmed two years after Shakahola cult horror that destroyed entire family
Isaac Ngala’s death is confirmed nearly two years after the Shakahola cult starvation tragedy claimed his wife, children, and relatives, as authorities continue releasing victims’ remains and families struggle with the emotional and financial burden of burials.
A former General Service Unit (GSU) officer who disappeared with his family inside Shakahola Forest has been identified through an autopsy, nearly two years after the tragedy that shocked the nation.
The ex-officer, Isaac Ngala, 36, had been attached to the Anti-Stock Theft Unit before resigning from the service in 2021. He later travelled to Shakahola with his wife, Emily Wanje, his mother, and their two children, Seth and Imani, who remain missing.
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Ngala’s body is among four that were positively matched through DNA analysis and handed over to relatives this week as the government continues to release the remains of victims of the Shakahola cult.
His body is currently preserved at the Malindi Sub-County Hospital Mortuary, with burial preparations underway. The family plans to lay him to rest on November 5, 2025, in Malindi’s Muyeye area.
Speaking to journalists at the Malindi Sub-County morgue after identifying his son’s remains, Titus Ngonyo Gandi confirmed that his late son, Isaac Ngala, had entered Shakahola Forest with his wife, Emily Kahunda Wanje, his mother, Esther Biria Masha, and their three children, Seth, Imani, and Harry.
According to Ngonyo, four family members had been identified earlier and laid to rest last year.
“We have preserved Isaac’s body at the morgue, and his burial will take place on November 5, at Muyeye village in Malindi,” he said.
Isaac’s father-in-law, Francis Wanje, called on the government and Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen to speed up the DNA identification of the remaining victims. He also appealed for financial assistance from the state, noting that many affected families were overwhelmed by burial expenses.
“We are going through a tough time financially. Last year, we buried four relatives, and now we are preparing for another funeral,” said Wanje.
Isaac’s body is part of the latest round of releases that began on Monday, marking a continuation of the painstaking process of identifying victims of the doomsday cult led by former televangelist Paul Mackenzie.
Alongside Ngala’s remains, other identified victims include Samuel Kirimi, an eight-year-old boy from Tigania West, Maurice Kingi Mutungi from Imenti North, and Titus Mulinga from Trans Nzoia County.
Families involved in the exercise have expressed financial challenges that hindered them from transporting the bodies for burial. The government has so far released eight bodies in this ongoing phase, with 26 more expected to be handed over.
The victims were among 429 people who died in Shakahola Forest in Kilifi County, allegedly as a result of forced starvation under the guise of religious fasting promoted by the Good News International Church. Mackenzie and 94 other suspects remain in custody, facing charges related to the deaths and radical indoctrination of followers.
Testifying last month before the Tononoka Children Court, Titus Ngonyo Gandi narrated how his wife, Esther Birya Masha, drew their two sons, Harry and Isaac Ngala, into Mackenzie’s church.
The pair abandoned their professions and family obligations after embracing the preacher’s teachings, which denounced education and formal employment as evil. Harry, his wife, and their five children all died in Shakahola Forest.
Isaac, who had once served in the GSU, resigned from his post, convinced by Mackenzie that salaried work was ungodly. His wife, a teacher, also left her government position to follow him, taking their three children along. Isaac, his wife, and two of their children later perished in the forest, leaving only one surviving child, now under the care of Ngonyo.
The elderly man explained that out of the 12 family members he lost, he has only managed to bury two after DNA analysis confirmed their identities. One grandson remains missing. He described his surviving grandson as “the flower of my eyes,” adding that he prays for justice both for himself and for the boy.
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