Kakamega family agonises after four sons flee to doomsday cult

Their children had been brainwashed to believe that school was evil and the end of the world was just five years away. And before long, their four sons had disappeared. 

One is 23, the others are minors. The couple has two other children.

For Kakamega couple Benson and Esther, the fallout has been unbearable. They have now appealed to the state to help them get back their children, whom they say fled to a suspected Malindi town doomsday cult leader calling himself Pastor Paul Mackenzie.

The church recently has hit the headlines for brainwashing children and youths into adopting its 'strange teachings'. Mackenzie has 12 court cases involving child and youth radicalisation. He is out on Sh1 million bond.

Benson and Esther of Mayala in Mwitoti, Mumias East, have spent s three weeks in search of their sons. At one point, Benson closed his workshop because he couldn't stop thinking about his children.

He is a blacksmith and runs a workshop in Bungoma town, where he makes charcoal stoves, utensils and other items.

Their search for their children has been unsuccessful, though they have traced the pastor to his Malindi home. The four quit schooling after they were allegedly lured into joining a cult disguised as a church. 

Felix, 23, was a first-year undergraduate student at Kibabi University. The firstborn was studying mathematics. He was the first to be converted by Mackenzie through his Times Television channel. Once he was indoctrinated, he initiated his three younger brothers into his newfound faith.

On Wednesday, Benson and Esther said the sect leader made their children believe that going to school was a sin, and there was no need of going anyway because the world would come to an end in 2024.

Felix burned all his certificates — they would not be useful in the afterlife.

Benson said the children disappeared on October 5. They left behind a letter in which they accused the parents of rejecting their request to join Mackenzie’s church. The distraught father of six spoke to the press at his home in Lukoye estate, Mumias West.

He said Felix had lately been behaving strangely and had even refused to enrol for Huduma Namba, saying it was the biblical 666 sign of the beast — the devil.  

“I was shocked by how my children were addicted to his programmes and would watch this man Mackenzie on television till midnight. Then I would come to the sitting room from the bedroom and tell them to switch off the TV and go to sleep,” he said.

Mumias East police boss Owuor Katany said they received reports from Benson on October 8. After investigations, they discovered that the children had joined a church by the name New Good International. It has branches in Mumias, Bungoma and Kakamega.

Failed search in Malindi

He warned that the government will not condone such teachings and said the cult leader will be prosecuted. 

Benson said that after three days of a thorough search, including visiting relatives, the children called him on the phone and told him they had travelled to Malindi to be with Pastor Mackenzie. 

Benson then travelled to the coastal town but his efforts to reclaim his children were “fruitless and extremely frustrating”.

“I went with the Malindi OCPD and other officers to the pastor’s place. We looked for the children but we could not find them. Mackenzie was arrested, only to be released later on claims that he would bring them back, which he didn’t,” Benson said.

He said the officers ensured their efforts went round in circles until he gave up and returned home. 

Efforts by The Star to speak to Mackenzie and Malindi OCPD were unsuccessful. They did not return calls or respond to text messages.

Benson has appealed to Interior CS Fred Mating’i to arrest Mackenzie and disband his sect. He said the purported man of the cloth is giving religion, especially Christianity, a bad name.

His wife Esther has been fasting subconsciously. She rarely eats since the children went missing.

“My sons have always done well in school and I want them back home. It’s very painful to me to have someone lie to them that the world is coming to an end,” she said.

Mumias Central Primary headteacher Francis Obwamo said the children disappeared from school mysteriously and left their teachers and parents in distress. He said they had lately been behaving strangely.

“We, as a school, are very disappointed. The three children are very bright. They have not done year-end exams as we are about to close the school,” he said.

He said education is key and the greatest inheritance a child can get from parents or guardians. The school wants Mackenzie arrested.

“We want the state and the Ministry of Education to intervene and ensure this pastor is put behind bars and the children are brought back to school,” Obwamo said.

Bungoma South DCI boss Yusuf Nzioki said they also received information that another five students from Kibabii have joined the cult.

But Kibabii head of security Zablon Mamai said they got reports that one student joined the church and is not on campus. He said the university had made plans to liaise with the student’s parents to have him brought back and counselled. He said the incident happened when the student was at home on long holiday.

(Edited by F'Orieny)