“They Said Dying Would Take Us to Heaven”: Teens Share Painful Stories of Life Inside Mackenzie’s Cult

 

By Victor Vosoro

His voice was steady, but his words carried the weight of trauma. Sixteen-year-old SBB (name withheld for protection) took the stand on Monday, facing a courtroom filled with silence, as he recounted the darkest chapter of his young life—one that began when his mother turned off the world and followed a preacher into the wilderness.

“She believed it was the only way to save our souls,” SBB told the court, describing how their life slowly unraveled after his mother began watching sermons on Times TV by controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie. “She pulled me out of school. She sold everything we had. Then we left for Malindi. We were going to ‘meet Jesus.’”

The teenager’s testimony came during the ongoing manslaughter trial of Mackenzie and 94 of his followers, accused of orchestrating a deadly cult in the depths of Shakahola Forest, also known as Jangwani—“the wilderness.”

What SBB described wasn’t just a misguided belief system. It was a slow and calculated descent into suffering.

In Jangwani, hunger was holy.

“We were told that if we fasted, if we gave up food and water, we’d go to heaven faster,” he said. “My mother said it was God’s will. She stopped giving me food.”

SBB went four days without eating before desperation took over. He stole food from a neighbor’s hut.

He paid for it with bruises.

“She beat me. So did Mr. Smart—one of Mackenzie’s people. They said I had let Satan in.”

SBB said questioning the teachings or refusing to fast was seen as rebellion. “They said we were blocks on the path to heaven. We weren’t allowed to talk back.”

Hospitals were off-limits. So was school. Even cosmetics and lotions were considered evil. “Anything from the outside world was satanic,” he said.

Eventually, SBB found a moment—just one—when the guards were distracted. He ran. Bruised, hungry, and terrified, he fled through the forest and made it to a nearby village where elders took him in.

He survived. But thousands did not.

Also testifying Monday was a 14-year-old girl known as EW, a soft-spoken Grade 6 pupil from Lwanda. Her small voice carried devastating truths.

“We were told school was evil. That it would make us forget God. Even makeup, lotion… we couldn’t use them,” she said. “We weren’t allowed to ask why.”

She looked down at her shoes as she explained how her family, too, had given everything to follow Mackenzie into the forest. She didn't say how she got out—but she’s out now.

Both children are among dozens of survivors now stepping forward, trying to piece together what happened in Shakahola and hoping the world will finally listen.

Paul Mackenzie and his co-accused face numerous charges, including manslaughter, child cruelty, and involvement in organized crime. The court proceedings are expected to continue next week, with more survivors expected to testify.

But on this day, it was the children who held the courtroom captive—not with fear, but with truth.

“I thought I was going to die there,” SBB said quietly.

Then he looked up.

“But I made it out.”

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