A photo circulating on social media allegedly showed Pastor Paul Mackenzie attending a church service with Kenya’s First Lady, Rachel Ruto.
However, KDRTV has confirmed that the photo was doctored to mislead the public. The original photo was posted by Ruto on her official Twitter account on January 22, 2023, when she joined Narok Governor Patrick Ole Ntutu during a church service in Narok County.
The person standing next to Ntutu in the original photo had no beard and was dark in complexion, unlike the edited photo, which replaced his head with that of Pastor Mackenzie. Another photo insinuating that Mackenzie attended a special prayer meeting at State House on September 25, 2022, was also edited.
These misleading photos come amid reports that Mackenzie is at the center of suspected cultic teachings that have seen dozens of followers starve to death in Kilifi County.
On Tuesday, April 25, detectives had exhumed 90 bodies from shallow graves on Mackenzie’s 800-acre piece of land in Shakahola forest. Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki toured the area and declared the deaths an act of genocide, insisting that Mackenzie will pay dearly for the harm caused.
The exhumation will be done by a multi-agency team led by security personnel and humanitarian organizations. The Kenya Red Cross Society reported that some 213 people who are linked to the controversial Kilifi pastor are missing, including 112 individuals who are under 18 years old.
