Court told how varsity student abandoned studies to follow Mackenzie’s teachings

A university student who abandoned his studies to follow Pastor Paul Mackenzie’s teachings was among the shocking accounts heard at the Mombasa High Court, as the murder trial against the controversial preacher and his 30 co-accused entered another day of emotional testimony.

The 57^th prosecution witness, Mr Benson Mutimba, a resident of Webuye, told the court that his son, a Kibabii University student, quit school after being convinced that education was evil and that only those who followed Mackenzie would attain eternal riches.

Mr Mutimba said his son persuaded him to sell all his property and relocate to Shakahola, claiming Mackenzie was a “true man of God.”

“He told me Pastor Mackenzie had even promised him a helicopter if he continued following his teachings,” Mr Mutimba testified.

When his children disappeared, he reported the matter to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI). Detectives traced one of their phones to Malindi, near Mackenzie’s base of operations.

Safaricom records later revealed that his son sent Sh200 to Mackenzie’s number after reaching Ukunda in Kwale County.

The 58^th prosecution witness, Ms Jesca Safari Kone, the second-born in a family of nine, narrated how she lost contact with her sisters after they travelled to Shakahola.

When her efforts to reach them by phone failed, she went to Furunzi, where they lived, only to find they had left.

She later learned that three of her sisters and five of their children had died in Shakahola.

Another parent, Ms Esther Anyango, the 59^th witness, told the court that one of her eight children got married and moved from Likoni to Shakahola.

She later received a call from her daughter’s husband informing her that her daughter had died while giving birth. Since then, she has not seen her daughter, son-in-law, or her two grandchildren — all still missing.

The 60^th witness, Ms Roseline Anivisa Asena, from Embakasi South, said her brother joined Mackenzie’s church and began enforcing extreme teachings, including withdrawing his children from school and refusing medical treatment.

Ms Asena said her brother’s wife eventually left the marriage because of his radical beliefs.

“My brother became harsh and burned his children’s school report cards and birth certificates,” Ms Asena told the court.