Paul Mackenzie’s eldest son, Dan Mackenzie, has opened up about his troubled childhood and the strained relationship he shared with the controversial preacher, revealing how his refusal to embrace his father’s religious teachings created a lasting rift between them.
Dan says his decision to stay away from church activities while growing up eventually made his father give up on him, leaving the two with little meaningful connection during his childhood.
Speaking on Saturday, November 7, 2026, Dan recalled how his reluctance to follow his father’s religious path affected their relationship.
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“He was just rebellious. I didn’t want to join or go to church when I was a kid. So he just gave up on me,” he said.
His account offers a glimpse into the family life of the preacher who was sentenced to 200 years in prison over the deaths linked to the Shakahola massacre.
Dan has previously described his relationship with his father as distant, saying he grew up without the close parental bond that many children enjoy.
“I never had a close relationship with my father. I have no childhood memories with him,” he previously told a local television station.
Despite their troubled history, Dan said he had forgiven his father and was prepared to accept whatever punishment the court handed down.
Childhood marked by forced fasting and punishment
Dan’s decision to reject his father’s religious teachings reportedly came at a high personal cost.
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He previously recounted being forced to fast for nearly a week when he was 12 years old. He also claimed that church members beat him for hours after he refused to attend a religious service.
In a separate interview with an international television station, he explained how he eventually abandoned the religious group after losing faith in its promises.
Walking away, however, came with significant personal losses.
Dan said he lost friends and became separated from his younger brother, who remained within the religious environment.
His concerns about the welfare of his younger siblings resurfaced in October 2026 when he alerted authorities after discovering that some of them were allegedly still being subjected to forced fasting.
Police subsequently rescued eight children, including five of his younger siblings.
Dan speaks after father’s 200-year jail sentence
Dan’s revelations come days after the High Court in Mombasa sentenced Paul Mackenzie to 200 years in prison following his conviction over the murder of 191 people in the Shakahola case.
On Friday, November 6, 2026, the court handed the preacher a 100-year sentence for murder by starvation and another 100 years for direct homicide.
Twenty-eight co-accused persons were also sentenced to prison terms ranging from 10 to 160 years.
Reacting to the judgment, Dan welcomed the court’s decision, saying it offered justice to victims of the tragedy.
“It’s justice to the people who we lost over there in Shakahola,” he said.
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His reaction highlights the complicated position he occupies in the aftermath of the massacre: being the son of the preacher convicted in the case while maintaining that he rejected the teachings associated with his father’s movement.
The Shakahola tragedy came to national attention in 2023 after investigators discovered mass graves containing the bodies of followers of Mackenzie’s Good News International Church in Kilifi County.
The case exposed the devastating consequences of extremist religious teachings and left numerous families mourning relatives who died after reportedly following instructions to fast.
For Dan, the tragedy also carries a deeply personal dimension, having grown up within the religious environment he later chose to abandon.
