Witness narrates how Mackenzie distorted Bible verses to defend deadly Shakahola fasting cult
Published By admin
A witness has described how controversial pastor Paul Mackenzie twisted Bible scripture to justify a mass starvation ritual that left scores dead in Shakahola, Kilifi County.
During Tuesday’s court session, the witness testified that Mackenzie cited passages from the Book of Revelation and reinterpreted them as a countdown to the rapture, urging his followers to fast to “beat the clock.”
Appearing before Shanzu Law Courts Principal Magistrate Leah Juma, the witness recounted that Mackenzie frequently referenced Revelation chapter 13, verse 11, which speaks of a pregnant woman hiding in the wilderness for 1,260 days to escape a seven-headed dragon. According to the testimony, Mackenzie gave this passage a radical meaning that pushed his followers into deadly fasting.
He allegedly taught that the seven-headed dragon symbolised Satan and his agents, whom he called wamataifa (worldly powers). The pregnant woman, he claimed, represented his church and members — the wateule (chosen ones). The child, he said, symbolised their faith, while the wilderness referred to the remote Shakahola forest, where his followers relocated after he shut down his Furunzi church.
The court heard that Mackenzie interpreted the 1,260 days as three and a half years — a prophetic countdown to the rapture. He instructed followers to begin fasting in 2020, when they moved to Shakahola, in preparation for what he claimed was the approaching end of the world.
Read more https://eastleighvoice.co.ke/national/215263/witness-narrates-how-mackenzie-distorted-bible-verses-to-defend-deadly-shakahola-fasting-cult
Content retrieved from: https://eastleighvoice.co.ke/national/215263/witness-narrates-how-mackenzie-distorted-bible-verses-to-defend-deadly-shakahola-fasting-cult.
