In 2015, Pastor Paul Mackenzie of the Good Life International Ministries established a branch in Bungale, Kilifi County, and put Pastor Peter Kyalo, who is now deceased, in charge of leading the church.
The community soon became suspicious of the teachings of the church, and things did not go as planned for this branch. According to a pastor who witnessed this, the community was not receptive to the church’s doctrine against going to school. Pastor Thomas Karisa, who is currently with the Grace Mission Kwandezi, initially joined the church but left after discovering Mackenzie’s controversial teachings.
Mackenzie used to tell the congregants that going to school was a sin, and this did not go well with Karisa’s followers. They rebelled against him, which led to conflict and division among the followers.
Karisa faced the wrath of his congregants, and some of his followers fell prey to Mackenzie and did not want to leave the church. In the process of trying to eject the followers, Mackenzie reported Karisa to a lawyer for legal action.
Mackenzie, who referred to himself as a bishop, was learned but misled the congregation. He quoted the Bible and spoke in tongues but would then ask the congregants to resist school.
Karisa argued that Mackenzie’s radicalization of the community was dangerous and that he should be jailed forever. The chair of Sauti ya Wanawake in Bungale, Priscah Shida, said that they had to fight to remove Mackenzie from Bungale and end his teachings. After Kyalo’s death, his wife continued to preach the controversial gospel and would tell members of the community to shun school.
Locals who bought into Mackenzie’s church faced fatal consequences. Esther Mkambe, a Bungale resident, fears that her sister is dead after going into the Kilifi farm where bodies have been found. Her sister joined the church in Malindi and later relocated to the wilderness in Chakama, where she died and was subsequently buried in the forest.
Mkambe called on local leaders to financially support families in Bungale to ferry properties belonging to their deceased kin. She said over 50 people had travelled to the infamous farm, hoping to access the houses of the deceased to get their belongings.
Mackenzie subjected many families to death, and they are now struggling to trace their homes and get their properties.
