Witness reveals how Mackenzie cited scripture to promote fatal fasting,on Tuesday September 22,2025 at the Shanzu law courtsA chilling account has emerged in the trial of controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie, with a prosecution witness testifying that he manipulated scripture to drive his followers into fatal fasting rituals.
Testifying at the Shanzu Law Courts before Principal Magistrate Leah Juma, the witness described how Mackenzie allegedly distorted Revelation 13:11.
The verse, which speaks of a pregnant woman hiding in the wilderness for 1,260 days to escape a seven-headed dragon, was used to justify retreating into Shakahola forest and fasting to death.
According to the testimony, Mackenzie taught that the seven-headed dragon symbolised Satan and his agents, whom he referred to as wamataifa or worldly powers.
The pregnant woman, he claimed, represented his church — the wateule or chosen ones — while the child symbolised their faith. The wilderness, the court heard, was interpreted as Shakahola.
“Mackenzie said the 1,260 days were three and a half years, the time remaining before the end. He said we had to fast to beat the clock,” the witness recalled.
The court also heard that Mackenzie’s apocalyptic teachings were reinforced by his close associate, George.
In a 2023 court application, Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Jami Yamina stated that Mackenzie’s followers were not hunger-striking in protest but fasting “to meet the deadline to heaven.”
Yamina said this confirmed the claim that his followers were racing against the 1,260-day countdown.
Another witness, identified as E.L, told the court that his father pressured him to join the fast, warning that his peers were “already with God” while he risked being left behind in “Babeli.”
“He would force people to heaven through blows and kicks if they refused,” he said, recalling Mackenzie’s words.
The hearings continue as more witnesses are expected to testify against Mackenzie.
