Controversial preacher Paul MacKenzie denied claims that he was the leader of a cult. In a statement with the police, Mackenzie said that he neither preached about the end times not brainwashed his followers into fasting to death. He said that his own family was not fasting.
Detectives from the Homicide Unit unit have resumed the exhumation of bodies in the Shakahola forest where followers of controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie are believed to have been buried after fasting to death.
MacKenzie started preaching when he was a taxi driver in Malindi town. He was initially a member of the Baptist church.
The State accuses Mackenzie of manipulating locals through skewed extreme religious teachings, and fear of the unknown in pursuit of salvation, leading to deaths of many.
Mackenzie further went on to state that he could not account for the number of people in Shakahola since he did not call them there. There is no physical church inside Shakahola forest.
Pastor Paul Mackenzie is known for converting several people to his belief. He also got into a scuffle with local school authorities after its students became his followers and would even engage in regular fasting.
Former members of the church have claimed that they were forced to fast as part of their adherence to its teachings.
His followers from upcountry and outside the country are said to have heard his preaching through his TV station and decided to relocate here.
Residents of the Migingo village in Malindi, Kilifi County also shed light on controversial pastor Paul Mackenzie. They said that he had relocated to the town in 2015 and that his sole purpose was to convert as many followers to his beliefs.
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