In brief
Dan Mackenzie, the eldest son of Paul Mackenzie, claims his five younger siblings were starved at his grandmother’s house weeks before the trial. Police rescued them and took them to a relief centre, yet the children suffered forced fasting for almost three days. Mackenzie’s father was found guilty on Monday of murdering 191 people, including children, in the Shakahola forest. The cult preached that education and modern medicine were evil, demanding followers fast to meet 'Jesus'. Dan, now a motorcycle taxi driver in Malindi, says he finally turned against his family’s beliefs to protect his siblings and hopes the verdict brings some solace to those who lost loved ones.
The eldest son of Paul Mackenzie, a convicted cult leader accused of murdering 191 people in Kenya, says his younger siblings were forced to fast at their grandmother’s house weeks before the trial.
Dan Mackenzie, 27, reported the abuse to police, who rescued him, his five younger siblings and a total of eight children from the cult. They were denied food for almost three days and had to endure a forced fast, the son told BBC’s Newsday.
Paul Mackenzie was found guilty on Monday of murdering 190 children and one adult who starved to death in the Shakahola forest, a coastal region of Kenya. The patriarch ordered followers to starve themselves and their children to “meet Jesus”, a claim that underpinned the brutal killings.
“When I was twelve, I was forced to fast for almost a week,” Dan recalled, adding that church members beat him to make him attend services when he was just a child.
He says he left school at seven and has since become a motorcycle taxi driver in the coastal town of Malindi, supporting himself and his younger siblings. Some locals in the town were angry because of his father's crimes, but others embraced him once he distanced himself from the cult’s teachings.
“I hope the verdict would bring some comfort to those who had lost friends and relatives,” Dan added, after the court’s sentencing hearing set for 6 November.
