- NCCK secretary general Chris Kinyanjui said Mackenzie and his church are not under the umbrella body of churches.
- He also blamed security agencies for failing to act on time after pastors and bishops in the area raised an alarm about his illegal activities.
Image: FILE
The National Council of Churches has disowned Kilifi controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie calling him an imposter.
NCCK secretary general Chris Kinyanjui said Mackenzie and his church are not under the umbrella body of churches.
He also blamed security agencies for failing to act on time after pastors and bishops in the area raised an alarm about his illegal activities.
At least 50 bodies believed to be those of his followers have so far been exhumed from mass graves since Saturday.
"I have spoken to a few of our pastors and bishops in Kilifi and they have said this is a matter they discussed with some of the security agencies before," Kinyanjui said.
"They raised an alarm however not much was done. We also don’t understand how he was allowed to operate in the forest for that long."
According to NCCK, Kenya has regulations guiding the registration of religious institutions under the Societies Act and churches are subjected to operate under the set regulations.
He said in the 60s and 70s, the government used to coordinate with them before registering any church, this ensured that background information about a particular preacher has been given to the State before allowing their registration.
However, this is no longer happening leading to the mushrooming of entities that are taking advantage of their followers.
"Churches operate under the Societies Act so we are all regulated by the government and we are subject to the laws of Kenya. It is misleading to claim that churches are not regulated," Kinyanjui said.
To deal with the issue of followers being brainwashed by rogue preachers, Kinyanjui urged security agencies to act whenever an alarm is raised on the activities of some of these preachers.
He said Mackenzie should be charged under the penal code act.
Kinyanjui also cautioned worshippers against selling their property to give money to some of the preachers.
"People are selling their property, taking money to the pastor. It looks like it was a church but a program this pastor was using to steal from his followers and he is not alone. There are many others," he said.
NCCK asked worshippers to attend churches that are properly organized with a governance structure and meet in the open.
They have further been asked to pray for themselves and avoid depending on a pastor to pray for them.