“Mtoto wetu hana makosa, hakulazimisha mtu”: Family Of Pastor Mackenzie defends him
Even as the death toll from controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie’s cult increases, his family has spoken out in his defense.
In an exclusive interview with Citizen TV, his younger brother, Robert Mackenzie, claims that Paul quit preaching in 2019 and started farming, therefore he is not to blame for the fatalities in Shakahola.
Before answering his spiritual calling, he worked as a taxi driver in Malindi for a couple of years, Robert recalled.
Pastor Mackenzie is ‘innocent’
He continued by saying that once his brother got the preaching bug, Paul tried his hand at ministering in other churches in Malindi, but disagreements with the founders of the churches proved to be too much, and he was expelled from three of them.
SEE ALSO: Kithure Kindiki Reveals Possible Charges Mackenzie Will Face In Court
Paul established the Good News International (GNI) church shortly after.
The older Mackenzie’s ministry at GNI quickly increased in size and generated controversy thanks to his teachings, which exhorted followers to forego contemporary education and pursuits of health, among other things.
According to his family, following those beliefs was never required.
“My children go to school and they go to hospital and Mackenzie has never forced me to have them do otherwise,” said Robert.
“If you don’t take your children to school then that’s on you and not Mackenzie.”
Pastor Mackenzie quit church in 2019
The family denies that Mackenzie fled his Malindi-based church to settle in Shakahola forest, instead noting that he told them that his God-ordained mission had ended in 2019, and that he was settling down to farm in the fields that have turned into the theatre of tragedy.
Despite the overwhelming number of bodies recovered from the fields in the last few days, the pastor’s family is convinced that their brother is the target of malice.
They say Paul was a model child growing up, kind to a fault and incapable of the crimes he is now accused of.
“I don’t agree with the accusations. I know my brother well; there’s no way he would kill and bury a person,” said Robert.
