Shakahola cult: Paul Mackenzie’s former follower reveals how emaciated members were strangled to death

It is now emerging that controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie was conducting funerals for his deceased followers.

This shocking new revelation comes from a former follower who says more than 1,500 people who trooped to Shakahola forest were not only conned to buy land but also brainswashed to fast to death.

From the time news of the Shakahola cult deaths hit national headlines, one lingering question was left unanswered; for just how long was this going on?

A former follower who was in Shakahola forest revealed how it all began, saying; “personally, niliuziwa shamba na pastor...na kuna wengi, karibu 90, walinunua mashamba...wengine waliuza mali zao na kuuza.”

Those who bought land, he told Citizen TV, weren’t privy to the fact that it was the beginning of the end for them. The indoctrination of Paul Mackenzie was slow, methodical and deadly.

“Kuna watu kufunga hadi kufa...na pia hapo nyumbani nimeshuhudia watu wamekufa kutokana na imani...hawatumii madawa, wanashikilia imani,” he said.

He further revealed Mackenzie was a sayer but not a doer of his own teachings, only fasting two days a week, convincing followers that he would be the last to die.

The number of families, he estimated, were upwards of 300, and a total of 1,500 people who held on to Mackenzie’s every word.

“Tangu nimjue huwa yuko na siku mbili za maombi...suala la kufunga yeye alikuwa hajaanza...kulingana na sequence aliokuwa ametoa, yeye alitaka awe wa mwisho,” said the former follower.

Followers began fasting in January of this year, and with every week that passed, their bodies withered.

By March the deaths started; the numbers of bodies, he said, rose each day - children who resisted the fast would be suffocated or strangled to death.

“Wanapokuwa watu wengi inakuwa ni gharama kuchimba kaburi zaidi ya moja,” he added.

He alleged that Paul Mackenzie was present during the funerals, overseeing the digging of the graves as they prepared to lay deceased followers to rest.

In some cases, they would dig up graves to await their next victim.

The search continues for countless families desperate to know if their loved ones are still alive.

Some have been met with unreasonable demands from Mackenzie's followers who are monitoring those still fasting in the forest.

Though more revelations are starting to surface, the question remains; will we ever know the full extent of what transpired in the depths of Shakahola forest?