Shakahola survivor recounts the ordeal of watching children starve to death
Shakahola survivor of the Kilifi cult says 'pastor' Paul Mackenzie ordered children to be starved to death first
Shakahola survivor of the Kilifi cult says ‘pastor’ Paul Mackenzie ordered children to be starved to death first.
A Kilifi cult survivor has revealed how she and her two children arrived in Shakahola and how controversial pastor Paul Mackenzie had them starve to death.
According to Philomena Kiilu, she learned that she could purchase a suitable plot of land in Shakahola for as little as KSh 3,000.
Given the attractiveness of the offer, she did not hesitate to accept it.
The People Daily reported that Kiilu claimed she initially traveled to Shakahola with her two children and that her husband was meant to follow them later.
Upon arrival, she registered at the entrance and was allocated a temporary structure in the compound.
Three days later, she was told she would be a servant for Mackenzie, who was described as the “king”.
“My duties were cleaning and cooking for the “king”, and in the evening, I would return to my hut. This is how I got close to the Mackenzie family,” she said in her statement to detectives.
Days later, three men would storm her hut and hand her an action plan, which was a set of instructions that she and her children were supposed to strictly follow.
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In the rules, children were supposed to be starved first until they died so that they could ‘meet God and escape the world’s suffering’.
Women were to follow, then men. Mackenzie was to be informed when the deaths happened to facilitate burial plans.
Further, children were banned from attending school, and all followers were prohibited from going to the hospital.
Intimacy during fasting was also outlawed. On learning this, a desperate Kiilu tried to escape as she would not fathom how her children were supposed to starve.
She tried several times to escape until January when she left.
On reporting the matter to the police, nothing was done.
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