How Kilifi cult victims led to booming of business even as Ruto labels Pastor Mackenzie a terrorist
3 min read
Kilifi cult victims led to booming of business according to boda boda riders who narated how they used to ferry Mackenzie followers
Kilifi cult victims led to booming of business according to boda boda riders who narated how they used to ferry Mackenzie followers.
In the far-flung town of Shakahola in Magarini, Kilifi County, some boda boda riders have described how they once made good money transporting hundreds of Pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie’s followers.
Business in the area started booming after Mackenzie closed down his Good News International (GNI) in Malindi in 2019 and settled on an 800-acre parcel of land in Shakahola.
This was 15 kilometres away from the Shakahola trading centre.
Because of the distance, most of his followers used to be carried on boda bodas after arriving in that village.
A Shakahola resident named Papa Jeff claimed that a large number of the controversial preacher’s followers were driving a lot of business to the region by swarming into stores to buy goods.
“Even us, as boda boda operators, were making good money by ferrying them from the village to the trading centre,” he said.
But three years later, he said, businesses started dwindling after they were restricted from accessing the village.
“Early this year, they became hostile and started blocking boda boda from their settlements,” he said.
He said one boda boda operator was attacked by people believed to be Mackenzie’s followers who were also acting as his security men.
Last month, he said Mackenzie’s followers became more hostile, and that’s when they became suspicious of what was happening in the forest.
Jeff said the locals started protesting being blocked from using the access road within the vast forest, and that is when they noticed people had started dying.
“We began getting reports of malnourished people who were dying one by one,” he said.
Kenya deploys Airforce planes to evacuate 300 citizens stuck in Sudan
Confusion as Azimio offer different dates for the return of the mass demonstration
Kilifi residents lift lid on controversial pastor Paul Mackenzie
Meanwhile, President Ruto has called for the prosecution of Pastor Paul Mackenzie over the deaths of several of his followers whose bodies were discovered buried at Shakahola Forest.
Speaking during the Prison Officers Pass Out Parade on Monday, April 24, the Head of State likened the pastor to a terrorist for ordering Kenyans to do acts contrary to the tenets of the Constitution.
Ruto further condemned religious groups that asked Kenyans to refrain from going to the hospital when sick or prohibited children from going to school.
“Look out for those who want to abuse even the religious sector by masquerading as religious people yet what they do is contrary to the teachings and to the beliefs of the religion whether they are Christians, Muslims or any other religion.
“What we are seeing in Kilifi, Shakahola, is akin to terrorism. There is no difference between Mr Mackenzie who pretends and postures as a pastor when in fact he is a terrible criminal. Terrorists use religion to advance their heinous acts. People like Mr Mackenzie are using religion to do exactly the same thing,” he stated.
The President, therefore, directed security agencies, including the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), to carry out thorough investigations against pastors abusing their place in religion to commit heinous acts.
Also read,
Ruto revisits the moment when Ex-CS Tobiko called him a clerk
Central MP asks for eviction students from arid areas studying in Kiambu (VIDEO)
Follow us
