Paul Mackenzie, the Kenyan cult leader facing charges connected to the deaths of hundreds of his followers, is now at the center of a new allegation from within his own family. His son Dan Mackenzie, who once defended his father publicly, says he felt compelled to report his own grandmother after witnessing what was happening inside the family.
Dan says children connected to his father are still being starved, and this is happening just weeks before Mackenzie is scheduled to go to trial. The shift in Dan's position is striking. He moved from defending his father to turning in a family member, which speaks to how serious the situation had become in his eyes.
The case against Paul Mackenzie centers on mass deaths among his followers, with hundreds believed to have died. The starvation of children tied to the group appears to be continuing even as legal proceedings close in. That detail alone raises urgent questions about who is still enforcing these practices and how far the reach of this group actually extends.
Dan's decision to speak out against his own grandmother puts a human face on what can otherwise feel like an abstract criminal case. When family members start breaking ranks this close to a trial, it tends to mean the full story is still coming to the surface.
Originally published by BBC Africa.