By Dorothy Musyoka
The Shanzu Law Courts received revelations that controversial preacher Pastor Paul Mackenzie secretly ate while in police custody, even as his loyal followers continued fasting for days believing that starvation would deliver them from criminal charges.
Testifying before Principal Magistrate Leah Juma, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Noor Abdi, who formerly served as the Officer Commanding Malindi Police Station, narrated that Mackenzie and several co-accused were held at the station between June 6 and June 14, 2023.
During that time, 15 suspects reportedly went without food for eight consecutive days, insisting that their fasting was for divine intervention.
“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 said the suspects became extremely weak during the hunger strike and refused medical treatment when taken to hospital, maintaining that their fasting was a spiritual exercise.
He also produced communication signals sent to senior police commanders, documenting the mass refusal of food by Mackenzie’s followers.
In addition to the police testimony, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) presented several witnesses to shed light on Mackenzie’s activities in Shakahola, Kilifi County.
Among them was Mr. Alex Tsofia, an excavator operator who testified that he was hired by Mackenzie to dig a dam in Shakahola and worked on the project for two weeks.
His statement was supported by Engineer Fredrick Ako from the National Water Harvesting and Storage Authority, who analyzed the dam’s structure and capacity.
Ako’s report described the excavation not as an irrigation or livestock dam but as a water harvesting pan with a storage capacity of 18,851.6 cubic metres, sufficient to supply water to approximately 1,090 people throughout the year.
A subsequent inspection by the authority confirmed there was no evidence of irrigation or livestock use, concluding the project was solely for water catchment.
The day’s proceedings also featured a deeply emotional account from Mr. Stephen Mwiti, whose wife and six children joined the Shakahola community under Mackenzie’s influence. Mwiti told the court that his wife became obsessed with the preacher’s sermons, leading to the breakdown of 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.
“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.
Pastor Paul Mackenzie and 92 co-accused are facing multiple charges under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the Prevention of Organised Crime Act.
The case which has gripped the nation continues to expose details about the alleged cult’s activities in Shakahola, where hundreds of followers are believed to have died from starvation and indoctrination.