On Thursday, May 25, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki discovered controversial pastor Paul Mackenzie’s mud hut deep within Kilifi County’s Shakahola Forest.
Kindiki said in a statement that Mackenzie of Good News International Church had erected the mud grass thatched cottage to coordinate all of his operations.
Mackenzie erected minor dams around the property to assist his farming endeavor in order to completely isolate himself from other people.
According to the Ministry of Interior images, the area featured three houses with no obvious boundaries.
A tour of one of the houses revealed a man with no apparent plan, as domestic things were scattered everywhere and others appeared broken.
“Visited part of Shakahola Forest where rogue preacher Mackenzie was residing, constructed dams for irrigation, and was growing various food crops despite radicalising his followers to starve to death,” Kindiki stated.
Residents who were left in awe wondered why Mackenzie left his palatial home in Malindi and relocated to the forest.
On Monday, May 1, angry Kilifi residents raided the mansion in the Furunzi area after the controversial preacher left in the company of police officers.
Meanwhile, CS Kindiki announced the government’s plan to construct roads in Shakahola Forest to allow police officers access to other areas believed to be part of the crime scene.
“The government will construct security roads within Chakama Ranch to enable the ground troops comb the expansive forest and combine forces with the team conducting aerial surveillance to ensure any person still holed up in the thickets is rescued,” Kindiki announced.
Before the intervention, the law enforcement officers lamented that the other victims were fleeing towards Galana Kulalu and Tsavo National Park.
“We believe more victims are holed up in the forest, and some attempt to escape Mackenzie land and Chakama ranch. We have rescued some of them.
“Sadly, yesterday, May 24, we lost one of those rescued from Shakahola Forest because they continued to resist eating. We tried our best to feed the victims with a lot of resistance, but they succumbed as they had already been weakened,” he stated.
The total number of bodies recovered from the forest currently stands at 241, including five skeletons.
