Even as the death count from his cult rises to 90, the family of controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie have flocked to his defence.
According to his younger brother, Robert Mackenzie, who spoke exclusively to Citizen TV, Paul ceased preaching in 2019 and began farming and is thus not responsible for the fatalities in Shakahola.
Robert explained that Mackenzie started as a taxi driver in Malindi, which he did for a few years before receiving his spiritual calling.
He added that his brother's preaching bug inspired him (Paul) to try ministering in other Malindi churches, but problems with the churches' founders proved too much, and he was kicked out of three of them. Paul soon after founded the Good News International (GNI) church.
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The older Mackenzie's ministry at GNI quickly grew in size and controversy, thanks to his teachings that pushed congregations to avoid contemporary education and health care, among other things. According to his family, following those beliefs was never required.
The family denies that Mackenzie departed his Malindi-based church to settle in Shakahola forest, instead stating that he told them that his God-ordained ministry had ended in 2019 and that he was settling down to cultivate in the fields that had become a tragic stage.
Despite the large number of deaths discovered in the fields in recent days, the pastor's family is confident that their brother is the victim of malicious intent.
They say Paul was a good child growing up, always gentle and incapable of committing the acts he is now accused of. Robert says that he disagrees with the allegations. Adding that he knows his brother well; there's no way he'd kill and bury someone.
