Mackenzie said Jesus told him He would no longer come to earth - Witness tells court

A witness has told a Mombasa court that the Shakahola massacre suspected mastermind, Paul Mackenzie, ordered his followers to fast till death since Jesus had told him that He would no longer come to earth but would meet them in heaven.

The court heard the testimony from a male minor under the Witness Protection Agency in the Thursday hearing of the case against Mackenzie and 95 others.

The witness spoke of how parents were commanded to starve their children to death after Mackenzie’s revelation, with the promise of a “celestial meeting with Christ in Heaven.”

He recounted bitterly how he and his brother were lured by their mother, a staunch follower of Mackenzie, to drop out of school in Mshomoroni, Mombasa County, and follow her to the dreaded forest dubbed ‘Jangwani.’

“In October 2020, armed with nothing but clothes and a few utensils, the mother and her two sons sneaked out while their father, a matatu driver in Mombasa, was away. They boarded a matatu from Mshomoroni to Malindi,” the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) said in a statement.

“At Mackenzie’s church, they were ushered into a lorry, with the final stop being Shakahola forest. Soon after, forced fasting was introduced.”

The minor lamented the ordeal which followed where children, especially those under six years, died of starvation including four siblings, all under ten years old, prompting him and his brother to attempt an escape.

He said the escape hit a dead-end after they were recaptured by Mackenzie’s operatives while waiting for a vehicle by the roadside and taken to back to the controversial preacher’s home.

They were forced to continue fasting until his 10-year-old brother’s death. A few days later, the witness learnt of his mother’s mysterious death before police officers rescued him.

“The witness narrated how he was separated from his mother a few days later. Upon inquiring about her whereabouts, he was shocked to learn of her passing. Fortunately, police officers arrived just in time to rescue them, taking them through a delicate process of treatment and counselling,” the ODPP stated.

At the same time, another witness, a Muslim minor, testified about his initiation to Mackenzie’s Good News International Church by his mother and sister after suffering an illness.

The events which unfolded later saw him and his sister drop out of school to attend Mackenzie’s biblical studies.

“Feeling better after the prayers, their faith strengthened, and they decided to follow Mackenzie’s teachings, quoting Bible verses like Colossians 2:8 and 2:20. This led him and his sister to drop out of class 4 and 6 respectively and avoid hospital visits, enrolling in ‘Biblical study’ classes at Mackenzie’s church,” the ODPP noted.

Even though law enforcement officers rescued the siblings and they later returned to school, their mother remained devoted to Mackenzie’s twisted teachings and until she disappeared in 2023.

“In 2020, she sold household goods, claiming she was heading to their other home in Kakoneni. A year later, she returned, appearing feeble, revealing she had been in Shakahola and intended to return,” the ODPP stated.

“Despite the witness’s pleas, she was unmoved and returned to Shakahola in February 2023. The witness never saw her again.”

In the case, Mackenzie, along with 95 co-accused persons, face charges including terrorism, child cruelty, radicalization, murder, and violating the Basic Education Act.