‘I was beaten, forced to fast for a whole week at 12’: Paul Mackenzie’s son recalls childhood abuse

The son of controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie has come forward with a harrowing account of the abuse he and his siblings allegedly suffered under their father’s radical religious teachings.

Dan Mackenzie says they were forced to fast without food or water and beaten by followers of the Good News International Church for refusing to attend religious services.

He was among those who waited for more than five hours for the court to deliver its verdict in the Shakahola murder case, in which his father and 28 other accused persons were facing 191 counts of murder.

Dan welcomed the High Court’s verdict finding his father guilty over the deaths of followers, including children, in Shakahola forest, saying it was a step towards justice for him and the families who lost their loved ones.

“It’s a relief… justice has happened to the victims,” he said after the judgement.

The 24-year-old says he escaped his father’s radical teachings alongside his five siblings, who were rescued and taken to a children’s rescue centre.

“I have been a victim too for what he was doing in Shakahola…that’s why I didn’t end up there because I was tired of him,” he says.

He recounts the trauma he endured as a child, when he was forced to fast without food or water and beaten whenever he resisted the demands.

“I was forced, when I was 12, to fast for a whole week…I was beaten by those church members for almost three hours just to attend a church service,” he recalls.

Dan says his father disowned him after he refused to join him at the Good News International Church in Shakahola forest, where hundreds of followers, including 191 children, died.

Forced to fend for himself, he turned to boda boda riding in Malindi to earn a living.

“He just gave up on me and I said I’m on my own…nimekuwa nikiishi vizuri na wat una wanasema hiyo ni mambo ya babako, sio yako,” he says.

Although the affected families have welcomed the court’s decision, they are now calling on the government to ensure Mackenzie takes responsibility by compensating them for their losses and suffering.

Mackenzie and 28 other sect leaders were found guilty in a verdict delivered by Justice Diana Kavedza-Mochache at the Mombasa Law Courts on Monday.