Monday, May 8, 2023 –First born son to the ‘rogue’ Kilifi-based pastor Paul Mackenzie has come out to defend the father.
21-year-old Dan Mackenzie, a boda boda rider in the village, now says, his father is a true and law-abiding citizen who cannot participate in killing and brainwashing worshipers as it is being claimed out there.
“All that is a lie because he did not go there with the congregants. He went there on his own because he wanted to become a farmer.
“My father had been a farmer for a long time since 2015. He had bought a piece of land in Kakuyuni and was farming it for about two years,” Dan insisted
On Sunday, May 7, Dan narrated how his father left home to settle in the infamous Shakahola Forest located in Malindi.
He added that his father left preaching and, at the same time, shut down his church in 2019 to start farming in the Forest.
In the latest interview done by the media, Dan was to accompany the father but remained behind to take care of their Malindi home.
“He told me that he was going to purchase a piece of land at Shakahola and he was going farm it.
“I told him that I could not go with him because I am not a farmer. He said that it was okay for me to stay behind if I did not want to join him,” the son recalled.
The young man who is loved by the father would, therefore, remain behind with his stepmother, granny and father’s third wife.
“My father loves me. When he left, he told me that if I ever needed anything, he would provide for us. He often sends us maize and tomatoes from there (Shakahola) and visited us periodically to monitor how we were doing,” he added.
When his father left, Dan Mackenzie became a bodaboda rider to earn a living. Prior to that, he was a photographer at his father’s controversial church.
Earlier on Friday, May 5, Mackenzie was denied bail after he failed to convince the Magistrate to set him free.
He is facing charges of murder and indoctrination of worshipers as of now, data from the investigating agencies shows that the death toll has hit over 110 bodies.
