Who Is Controversial Pastor Paul Mackenzie?
Pastor Paul Mackenzie is the initiator of Good News International Church. and is married to Joyce Mwikamba. Mackenzie used to drive a cab in Malindi, but his old coworkers say he quit to start a church instead. When he was younger, Mackenzie’s sister piloted him to Malindi. In 2022, he relocated his ‘church’ to Shakahola.
Between 1997 and 2003, Mackenzie faced four charges related to his sermons; however, there was insufficient evidence each time, and he was exonerated. The minister is still causing controversy 16 years later with his sermons and is in legal hot water. In 2017, he and his wife,, were brought before Malindi Chief Magistrate Dr. Julie Oseko on charges of inciting violence and extremism.
Mackenzie was again brought before the same court in May 2019 on charges of noncompliance, instigation of religion, and indoctrination of minors. The preacher was accused of being in ownership of cinematic materials designed to influence children against going to school.
The Controversy Behind Pastor Paul Mackenzie’s Cult Church
Is Pastor Paul Mackenzie’s Church a Cult?
Pastor Paul Mackenzie’s church is considered a cult due to his extreme religious beliefs. An ex-congregant of Good News International, Humphrey Nyongo, has revealed some startling revelations about the content of these lectures. Pastor McKenzie, he said, had a stranglehold on his congregation, telling people to stop working, not eat, and not go to the doctor even when they were sick.
He also suggested that they don’t t send their kids to school but instead learn about life at church. Mr. Nyongo had become wary of these directives and left the church, but he found it difficult to do so.
What are the Conditions Pastor Paul Mackenzie Gave His Followers?
Followers were not to eat
Dozens of people starved to death in the assurance that they would meet Jesus and avoid everlasting damnation.
Followers were to burn their education certificates
Some of the kids who were questioned said they abandoned their parents and schools to pursue the preacher because they believed education was a kind of Satanism. Bible texts were used in defense of the pastor’s followers’ decision to stop attending school and even burn their school records and transcripts.
Followers were to stop going to school
Instead of sending their kids to school, he said they should take them to church every Sunday to learn about God and life.
Sick people were not to go to the hospital
The sick were also not allowed to visit the hospital. In accordance with the severe teachings of Pastor Mackenzie, they were prepared to meet their end with dignity.
Live within his land
His followers were instructed to relocate to Shakahola. Some anonymous churchgoers claim that upon entering Shakahola village, they are offered a plot of land for sale at the rate of Sh25, 000 per acre.
Women to shave their heads
The heads of most of the women whose bodies had been discovered were shaven.
How Many Bodies Have Been Exhumed from the Shakahola Forest?
As of 25th April 2023, Kenyan police have retrieved the remains of 73 people they suspect belonged to a Christian cult that believed starvation was the only way to ensure eternal life in paradise.
The police have begun excavating bodies from the Shakahola forest close to the coastal town of Malindi. “In total, 73 people have died at the Shakahola forest,” a detective identified as Charles Kamau said.
The remains of kids were among the dead. 15 members of the Good News International Church were rescued last week from shallow graves in Shakahola woodland. Kithure Kindiki, the interior minister for Kenya, claimed that the 800 acres of woodland had been completely cordoned off and designated a crime site.
Pastor Paul Mackenzie’s Cult Church: Weird Victim Stories
Air Hostess Quits Job and Sells Land to Pastor Paul Mackenzie
A high-flying air hostess named Betty left her 11-year employment, sold her property for a stunning $7 million, and gave everything to Malindi cult leader Pastor Paul Mackenzie.
Betty sold all she owned, gathered her children, and left for Malindi after learning from a friend that they would all be meeting Jesus on April 8th. After being assured that she would encounter Jesus, she too made the decision to fast.
Student Drops Out and Refuses to Eat
Father of five and resident of Mumias East constituency, Benson Omari, from Mwitoti village, buried one of his sons, Ian Mukumbu, around two weeks ago after he declined to eat and shun education. Omari is still in grief. Pastor Paul Mackenzie of the Good News International Church is accused by the families of exposing their kids to Satanism.
A lady dies of sickness after rejecting to go to the hospital
Esther Mkambe of Bungale stated her sister and her three children left Malindi to follow Jesus and are now living in the desert near Shakahola. In February of this year, she finally located her sister; she was frail and emaciated and said that the two of them had been starving in the woods. Ms. Mkambe claimed that her ailing sister had told her that she had broken her fast after seven days.
She suggested that she take medication, but she refused, citing religious objections. She claimed that several people, including her sister and two children, had perished and been buried in the woods.
Is Controversial Pastor Paul Mack Arrested?
On Friday evening, April 14, Pastor Makenzie turned himself in after a rumor spread that he had ordered his congregation to fast in preparation for the “excruciating death in the world” that was soon to come. In the middle of inquiries into the hunger deaths of four of his followers, Pastor Paul Mackenzie turned himself in at the Malindi Police Station
President Ruto has voiced his dismay and equated the situation to terrorism. According to Ruto, Mackenzie, who poses and acts like a pastor but is actually an appalling criminal, is no different.
Cult Churches In Kenya: Past Scandals that Shook the Country
(Finger of God) Esther Arunga and Hellon
After reaching the zenith of her media career as a news anchor at KTN, Esther Arunga surprised the nation in 2010 by leaving the network to join the Finger of God Church. Kenyans’ beloved journalist came under fire when she was said to have been misled by her husband, Quincy Timberlake, and the church. The police even took Arunga into custody and had him evaluated by a psychiatrist.
During the height of the scandal that engulfed Kenyan media, the three of them founded the Placenta party to run for office in the upcoming 2013 General Elections. Arunga announced her candidacy for the Karachuonyo seat, while her partner sought to oust Raila Odinga from his Langata seat. On the contrary, Joseph Hellon expressed interest in running for president.
The journalist and her husband fled to Australia from the public’s scorn after years of abuse. The couple’s son’s inexplicable death in June 2014 put them back in the spotlight. Arunga stated at the time that their son passed away after falling down the staircase at home.
However, the three-year-old died from blunt injuries to the abdomen, according to the police investigation.
Paul Magu
In the month of November 2014, the citizens of Kenya awoke to the horrific news of the tragic deaths of a family. Paul Magu, a lawyer, was the primary suspect in the investigation after the November 24th discovery of his wife’s charred and mutilated remains.
Family members came forward after the odd events to say that the murdered lawyer and his wife were devoted followers of a pastor in Nigeria and had visited the West African country more than 20 times beginning in 2009. The lawyer’s decision to leave 90% of his estate to his pastor drew skepticism as it became public knowledge.
House of Yahweh, Kinangop
Members of the House of Yahweh sold their assets and properties to fund the construction of mud bunkers, where they planned to wait out the nuclear holocaust that their cult leaders said would usher at the end of days.
However, other cult members were unconcerned about the delay in the war’s start, insisting that the end was already underway and would kill off the world’s unarmed population.
Officials expressed fear that members of the House of Yahweh, who have reportedly been selling off their assets in preparation for the end of the world, might try suicide.
Hannah Khahugani Inyama
Police in South B. detained a nurse who specialized in resuscitating the seriously ill after finding her son’s rotting body in the home. The body had been at the Kifaru flats for at least two weeks, where Hannah Khahugani, 41, had been staying, according to neighbors. They stated she invited other Christians over to her house for a singing and praising session.
In the sitting room, they discovered Emmanuel Inyama’s body wrapped in a blanket. The mother explained that her son had fallen from the sixth-story building and died. She claimed she did not take him to the hospital because she has no faith in medical facilities of any kind.
Everything You Need to Know About Pastor Paul Mackenzie: Wrapping Up
Here are some key details about the controversial man you should know:
- Mackenzie established Good News International Church.
- Joyce Mwikamba is his wife.
- Before becoming a priest, he worked as a cab driver.
- Back then, Mackenzie’s sister piloted him to Malindi.
- Between 1997 through 2003, Mackenzie was accused of preaching illegally four times, but he was always found not guilty owing to a lack of evidence.
- The Mayungu Children’s Rescue Centre first noticed Mackenzie’s suspicious behavior in 2017.
- One of his churches was destroyed in Kilifi County, Kenya, in October 2018 by enraged locals in the town of Magarini.
- Mackenzie was arrested in 2019 for encouraging public opposition to Huduma Namba registration by drawing parallels between the number and the Number of the Beast.
- In the year 2022, he relocated his “church” to the town of Shakahola.
Kenyans should be on guard against spiritual exploiters who lure converts through moral flattery, relentless evangelism, and twisted interpretations of scripture. It is unfortunate that despite previous arrests nothing has been done about the cult, but with the recent horrors we hope that lasting action may be taken
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- Kitengela Woman, 24, Detained for Allegedly Murdering 2-Year Old And Eating Organs - April 26, 2023
- Pastor Paul Mackenzie Cult: The Weird Demands, Number of Dead Bodies, and Victim Stories - April 25, 2023