Paul Mackenzie’s son, Dan Mackenzie, has said he dropped out of school while in class Seven after his father told him that education was a plan of the devil.
Dan said he believed his father and decided to leave school, saying the decision was linked to what he had been taught at the time.
“Niliwacha shule nikiwa darasa la saba. Kwa sababau alisema elimu ni mpango wa shetani. Nikamuamini, nikawacha shule,” Dan Mackenzie said on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, during an interview at a local radio station.
Dan also recalled the period when his mother died while receiving treatment in hospital. He said that after her death, his father began preaching about end times and other issues, including women not wearing makeup.
“Mama yangu aliaga akiwa hospitali akipata matibabu. Alipotuacha mama ndio akaanza kuhubiri kuhusu end times, wamama wasivae makeup and all that, hiyo ni mwaka wa 2015 huko,” Dan Mackenzie said.
Dan recalls life in the church
Dan said he witnessed beatings in the church and claimed his father would beat him with the help of some of the church members because he did not want to attend church.
He said the experience was part of the situation he went through at the time, as he struggled with going to church and had already stopped attending school.
“Kwa hiyo kanisa nilishuhudia viboko, alikua ananichapa akisaidia na washiriki wake, kwa sababu sikua nataka kuingia kanisa,” Dan Mackenzie said.
Dan further linked his experience at the church to his decision not to continue with school. He said the situation he was going through affected him as he stayed away from education.
“I think kwa sababu ya ile hali alikua ananipitisha, hali ya kutoenda shule,” Dan Mackenzie said.
His account details the circumstances surrounding his decision to leave school while in class seven. He said his father’s teachings influenced the decision after he was told that education was a plan of the devil.
Dan also placed the beginning of his father’s preaching about end times and women not wearing makeup around 2015, after the death of his mother. He recalled that period alongside his experiences in the church, including the beatings he said he witnessed.
His account also connects his experiences at the church with the period in which he stopped going to school. Dan said he believed what his father told him and consequently left school while in Class Seven.