A prisoner at Shimo La Tewa Prison in Mombasa, serving a 50-year sentence for trafficking bangi, testified in court about how he smuggled two SIM cards into the prison. Rimba Kitsao, the prisoner, stated that he hid the SIM cards in his underwear and sewed them into his waistband. He claimed that he had been using the SIM cards for personal reasons and had not given them to anyone else.
Kitsao stated that although mobile phones and other communication devices are prohibited in prison, many inmates were using them when he first arrived. He alleged that prison officials should be held accountable for the presence of these devices, claiming that prisoners could not have smuggled them in without the help of security personnel. However, he noted that changes in prison leadership brought stricter security measures.
According to Kitsao, he had possessed the two Safaricom SIM cards since his arrest on March 6, 2024. He claimed that he had not used either SIM card to make or receive calls, send or receive money while in prison. Kitsao stated that prison officials searched his cell on September 20, 2025, and confiscated two Bibles and a piece of paper with names and phone numbers.
During the search, officials allegedly told Kitsao that one of the numbers registered to him had been used for fraudulent activities. Kitsao denied any involvement in the alleged fraud. The next day, officials conducted another search and found the two SIM cards, one registered in his name and the other in his wife's name, Tatu Safari.
Kitsao stated that he had never met or spoken with Mackenzie and only knew him through news reports about the deaths of his followers in Shakahola. However, he admitted to occasionally giving one of the SIM cards to his cellmate, Charles Kalume, who would often ask for phones from other inmates.
Sergeant Stanslous Bongo Chikute, a prison official who oversaw the search at Shimo La Tewa Prison, testified that he could not determine whether prison officials were involved in smuggling the SIM cards. Chikute stated that Kitsao was in the best position to explain how the SIM cards were brought into the prison.
In Mackenzie's cell, officials found three Airtel SIM cards hidden in shaving sticks, as well as a notebook with names and phone numbers. Some of the numbers had been written over other text to make them harder to read. The case against Mackenzie and six co-defendants involves the deaths of 52 people in the Kwa Bi Nzaro forest.
Key points
- Prisoner Rimba Kitsao smuggled two SIM cards into Shimo La Tewa Prison, which were allegedly used by pastor Paul Mackenzie.
- Kitsao claimed that he had not used the SIM cards for any illegal activities while in prison.
- The case against Mackenzie and his co-defendants involves the deaths of 52 people in the Kwa Bi Nzaro forest.
