A police witness told the court that controversial preacher pastor Paul Mackenzie secretly ate in police custody while his followers continued fasting, believing it would help them evade criminal charges.
Testifying before Principal Magistrate Leah Juma, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Noor Abdi, the former Officer Commanding Malindi Police Station, narrated that Mackenzie and several co-accused were detained at the station between June 6 and June 14, 2023.
During this period, 15 of the suspects reportedly refused to eat for eight consecutive days, insisting that they were fasting for divine intervention in their legal troubles.
“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.
He added that the suspects became extremely weak during the hunger strike and declined medical assistance when taken to the hospital, insisting that their fasting was spiritual.
The officer also produced several communication signals sent to senior police commanders reporting the mass refusal of food by the detained Shakahola cult followers.
In addition to Abdi’s testimony, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) presented Alex Tsofia, an excavator operator hired to construct a dam in Shakahola, Kilifi County. Tsofia told the court that he had been contracted by Mackenzie and worked at the site for two weeks.
Prosecution also called Engineer Fredrick Ako from the National Water Harvesting and Storage Authority,who assessed the dam’s capacity and purpose.
His report described the structure not as an irrigation dam, but as a water harvesting pan with a storage capacity of 18,851.6 cubic metres, enough to supply water to 218 households, or approximately 1,090 people, throughout the year.
A subsequent inspection by the National Water Authority confirmed there was no evidence of irrigation or livestock use, indicating that the excavation was solely a water catchment project.
The report, however, estimated that the dam could supply up to 16,498 people for three months depending on the amount of rainfall and consumption levels.
The prosecution also produced a poignant testimony from Mr. Stephen Mwiti, whose personal life was shattered after his wife became a follower of Mackenzie.
Mwiti recounted how his wife’s obsession with the pastor’s sermons strained their marriage.
“I sometimes walked around with the TV remote in my pocket to stop her from watching Mackenzie’s preaching, but it didn’t help,” he told the court.
He said his wife eventually fled their home with their five children while pregnant with their sixth, joining the Shakahola community. “When I heard some people had been rescued from Shakahola, I prayed I would reunite with my family. But I was devastated when I learned that my wife and all six children, including a one-month-old baby, had disappeared,” Mwiti said emotionally.
A DNA test later confirmed that one of the rescued children was his. When questioned by Mackenzie’s lawyer on whether he would consider reconciling with his wife, Mwiti said he had left the matter to the court and only sought justice.
Pastor Mackenzie and 92 co-accused are facing multiple charges at the Shanzu Law Courts under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the Prevention of Organised Crime Act. The case, which has gripped national attention, continues to expose harrowing details about the alleged cult activities in Shakahola, where hundreds of followers are believed to have died through starvation and indoctrination.
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