Pastor Mackenzie ate secretly while followers starved seeking divine acquittal, court told

It turns out Pastor Paul Mackenzie may have observed the Shakahola fast rather creatively, by letting his followers starve while he allegedly enjoyed secret meals in police custody.

Testifying before Principal Magistrate Leah Juma, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Noor Abdi, formerly in charge of the Malindi Police Station, told the court that while Mackenzie’s followers were busy “seeking divine acquittal through hunger,” the preacher was quietly feeding himself--just not in public view.

“Your honour, our informer told us Mackenzie ate in the cell, but discreetly, so his followers wouldn’t lose faith in the gospel of starvation,” said ASP Abdi, sending a ripple of suppressed laughter across the courtroom.

The officer said that between June 6 and June 14, 2023, the detainees turned the police cells into a prayer-and-fasting retreat, insisting that God would soon open their prison gates.

Fifteen suspects reportedly fasted for eight days straight, ignoring hospital care and turning down every plate offered by police.

The prosecution then produced Mr Alex Tsofia, an excavator operator who said he was hired by Mackenzie to dig what he thought was a dam in Shakahola, Kilifi County.

He worked for two weeks before realising the project was less about irrigation and more about inspiration.

When Engineer Fredrick Ako from the National Water Harvesting and Storage Authority later inspected the site, he found that the so-called dam was actually a water pan with a capacity of 18,851.6 cubic metres — enough to quench the thirst of 1,090 souls for a year, assuming they weren’t fasting.

The day’s drama took a sombre turn when Mr Stephen Mwiti testified that his wife had left him, their five children, and her sixth pregnancy to follow Mackenzie to Shakahola.

“I used to walk around with the TV remote in my pocket to stop her from watching his sermons,” Mwiti told the court.

“But she still tuned in --spiritually and literally.”

Mr Mwiti said he later prayed that the people rescued from Shakahola would include his family, only to learn that his wife and all six children had disappeared.

A DNA test later confirmed one rescued child was his.

Asked by Mackenzie’s lawyer whether he’d consider taking her back, Mr Mwiti said he had left that decision to “a higher court.”

Pastor Mackenzie and 92 co-accused face a buffet of charges--including those under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the Prevention of Organised Crime Act--at the Shanzu Law Courts.

As the case continues, the nation watches in disbelief, wondering how a man who preached salvation through hunger allegedly couldn’t resist sneaking in a snack behind bars.