Cleophas Atanda Lihoywa, who hails from Shirombe village in Butere, Kakamega county called on the government to forgive his son should he apologise for being the right-hand man of Mackenzie and participating in the macabre killings of believers whose bodies were discovered in mass graves at Shakahola in Malindi, Kilifi county.
“I call on the government to consider forgiving him if he sees sense and apologises for abusing the scripture and causing the widespread massacre of innocent civilians,” he stated.
He also reminisced that his son who was a Form Four drop out was a great family man committed to taking care of his family.
At the time, he worked at a Nakumatt Supermarket situated at Cabanas along Mombasa Road before moving to Gikomba market after he lost his job.
He worshipped at a Pentecostal church in Nairobi before moving to the Good News International Ministries owned by Mackenzie.
According to the distraught father, Zablon suddenly changed and began behaving strangely and would caution his wife against taking his children to school and hospitals whenever they got sick.
“When the wife refused to join the Mackenzie church, he beat her and chased the family while he moved to Malindi,” he recounted.
While expressing disappointment with his acts, the old man revealed that his son changed his name from Zablon Atanda after abandoning his wife and children and leaving for Malindi.
“His official name is Zablon Atanda and not that name you are hearing,” he stated.
Lihoywa also noted that he learned of his son’s arrest from relatives who called him.
Zablon was arrested last week Friday at Mackenzie’s farm, where the leader of the church is said to have misled his followers to fast to death in order to meet Jesus.
