Court Jails Controversial Pastor Paul Mackenzie

Controversial pastor Paul Mackenzie has been sentenced to 12 months in prison for the offence of operating a filming studio and producing films without a valid license.

The ruling was made on Friday, December 1 by Malindi Senior Resident Magistrate Olga Onalo.

Mackenzie was also jailed for six months for being in possession and exhibition of films to the public through Times TV without an operating license and the sentences will run concurrently.

“In respect to count two, I hereby sentence the accused person to twelve months imprisonment while in respect to count three, the accused person’s explanation of not knowing the need for a license from the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) having obtained a broadcasting one is a reasonable though not entirely acceptable as ignorance of the law is no defence hence the resulting conviction and in light of the same, I sentence the accused to six months imprisonment,” Onalo ruled.

She added that the sentences shall run concurrently with the accused person having a right of appeal in 14 days.

The offences faced by the controversial pastor attract a jail term not exceeding one year and an alternative fine not exceeding Ksh100,000.

The report tabled in court emerged from a court order that directed the probation office to compile a report to guide the sentencing of Mackenzie in a 2019 court case involving running a recording and TV studio without a valid license from KFCB.

The probation report by the Assistant Director of Probation in Mombasa Nick Makuu stated that in previous criminal records, Mackenzie was convicted and fined for a similar offence in criminal case no. 182 of 2017 and he was recently acquitted in CR 790/17 for charges related to activities in his church such as radicalization and operating an unregistered education institution for which the ODPP has applied to appeal out of time. 

The ruling comes as Mackenzie was found guilty of operating a filming studio and producing films without a valid filming license from KFCB and also with the offence of being in possession and exhibiting films to the public through Times TV which had not been examined and classified by KFCB.

In a statement released by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP) on Friday, November 10, the High Court ruled that there was sufficient evidence presented by the prosecution to convict the Shakahola cult leader. As a result, the court ordered a pre-sentence report to be filed in court which set the stage for his sentencing.

Mackenzie on Friday, June 30 appeared in a Malindi court for the mention of a case in which he is accused of violating laws relating to film classification. He was accused of possession and distribution of films to the public without a valid license from the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) in 2019.

The prosecution told the Malindi Law Courts, which was presided over by Magistrate Irene Tamara, that the films intended to incite children from attending school.

Mackenzie was charged in April 2019 but denied the charges and was released on a cash bail of Ksh500,000 before another arrest in connection to the Shakahola massacre.