Controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie capitalized on the anxiety and desperation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic to amass a following for his church, according to the Senate Ad Hoc committee’s final report on the Shakahola tragedy.
The investigation revealed that numerous vulnerable individuals were recruited into the cult during the pandemic by agents operating across the country.
Led by Tana River Senator Danson Mungatana, the committee also uncovered that many of those lured into the forest were sourced from various regions of Kenya.
This was due to the local population’s awareness of Mackenzie’s activities and their disagreement with his teachings.
The recruitment agents targeted individuals from all over Kenya, enticing them with the promise of cheap and affordable arable land in Shakahola Forest. Shockingly, the report indicated that this land was being sold for as little as Ksh2,000 per acre.
While it remains unclear whether there were sister churches and preachers outside the country, information available to the committee pointed to affiliated branches of Good News International Ministries in various locations, including Makongeni in Nairobi County, Mbui Nzau and Ndeini in Makueni County, Sameta in Kisii County, Usoma in Kisumu County, and Bombolulu and Jomvu Kuu in Mombasa County.
During their submissions to the committee, the Kilifi County Assembly Committee noted that most affected families were not indigenous to Kilifi County, but they had relatives residing in coastal areas such as Voi, Malindi, and Kilifi.
The vulnerability, desperation, mental health issues, chronic diseases, poverty, and misfortune among these victims made them susceptible to extremist beliefs and teachings.
The report also highlighted that the religious tendencies of people in Vihiga County and Kisumu County made them more susceptible to the doctrine taught by Good News International Ministries.
In Kisumu County, followers of Mackenzie were directed to meet an unidentified person at the Gita Prayer Centre in Kajulu, Kisumu East, who would then entice them to travel to Malindi from Luanda Bus Stage in Vihiga County for supposed spiritual guidance and nourishment.
Despite the absence of a physical church in Vihiga County, Good News International Ministries used agents to recruit followers.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights noted that the influx of people into the forest escalated during the COVID-19 period in 2020.
After being allocated land in Shakahola Forest, these followers constructed rudimentary grass-thatched mud structures, with no road networks, schools, or health facilities in the vicinity.
