The small village of Migingo in Malindi, Kilifi County, was forever changed when the controversial pastor, Paul Mackenzie, arrived with a mission to convert as many followers as possible. He settled in the village in 2015, and since then, his influence has only grown. Mackenzie set up his Good News International church in a compound surrounded by a concrete wall, where his family is believed to reside. Citizen TV attempted to speak to them but was turned away.
According to the hushed tones of neighbors, when Mackenzie left last year, he had converted many into his followers. These followers would fast, including children, and even some neighbors who were not part of the cult but followed Mackenzie.
However, last week, the horrors of the Shakahola graves surfaced, and families of believers who are still missing have been thronging the Malindi police station and Shakahola forest with hopes of sighting their loved ones. The families, some coming from as far as Nyanza and Western regions, have been camping at the police station, insisting they will not leave until they receive reports of their loved ones who disappeared more than three years ago after following the misleading teachings of Paul Mackenzie.
The families have called on the government to put more emphasis on searching for those who are still hiding deep in the forest of Shakahola, even as detectives continue to unravel more graves. The number of bodies exhumed from the forest has since risen to 59, following the exhumation of eighteen bodies from seven graves on Sunday, with detectives yet to dig up more than 50 graves, and the number of those alive remaining unknown.
The mystery of Paul Mackenzie’s cult and the disappearance of his followers has left the small village of Migingo and the surrounding areas in shock. The neighbors’ voices are just the beginning of unraveling the truth behind what happened to those who followed Mackenzie. The families of the missing have not given up hope, and they will continue to demand answers until they find their loved ones.
