Controversial preacher Paul Mackenzi and his Co accused persons at the Mombasa Law Court in Mombasa County on Tuesday 13th August 2024, during the second day of the hearing where he is charged with 238 counts of manslaughter.
By Shadrack Nyakoe
Controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie secretly ate while in police custody even as his detained followers continued to starve themselves in the name of faith, a court in Mombasa has been told.
Testifying before Principal Magistrate Leah Juma at the Shanzu Law Courts, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Noor Abdi, who formerly commanded the Malindi Police Station, recounted how Mackenzie and several co-accused were held between June 6 and June 14, 2023. During that period, 15 of Mackenzie’s followers reportedly refused food for eight days, claiming they were fasting for divine intervention in their legal troubles.
“Your honour, we separated Mackenzie from the rest of the suspects, and our informer reported that Mackenzie ate while in the cell but did it secretly so that his followers would not notice,” Abdi testified.
The officer told the court that the suspects became extremely weak during the hunger strike and even declined medical care when taken to hospital, insisting their fasting was spiritual. He produced several communication signals sent to senior police commanders reporting the mass refusal of food by the detained Shakahola cult adherents.
The prosecution also presented testimony from excavator operator Alex Tsofia, who said he had been contracted by Mackenzie to dig a dam in Shakahola, Kilifi County, and worked on the site for two weeks. Engineer Fredrick Ako from the National Water Harvesting and Storage Authority told the court that an assessment later found the structure to be a water harvesting pan — not an irrigation dam — with a storage capacity of 18,851.6 cubic metres, enough to serve about 1,090 people for a year.
A follow-up inspection by the National Water Authority found no evidence of irrigation or livestock use, concluding that the project’s sole purpose was water catchment.
In a separate emotional testimony, Mr. Stephen Mwiti recounted how his wife’s devotion to Mackenzie’s teachings destroyed his family. “I sometimes walked around with the TV remote in my pocket to stop her from watching his preaching, but it didn’t help,” he told the court. Mwiti said his wife fled their home with their five children while pregnant with their sixth to join Mackenzie’s commune in Shakahola.
“When I heard people had been rescued from Shakahola, I prayed to be reunited with my family. But I was devastated to learn that my wife and all six children, including a one-month-old baby, had disappeared,” Mwiti said tearfully. A DNA test later confirmed that one of the rescued children was his.
When asked by Mackenzie’s lawyer if he would reconcile with his wife, Mwiti said he had left the matter to the court and only sought justice.
Mackenzie and 92 co-accused face multiple charges under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the Prevention of Organised Crime Act. The case continues to reveal grim details of the alleged Shakahola cult, where hundreds of followers are believed to have died through starvation and indoctrination.
