A Mombasa court was informed on Thursday that Rhoda Muweu, the wife of controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie, was initially a congregant in his church before marrying him.
Muweu, who is facing charges alongside Mackenzie and other church members, is his third wife. The court heard that Mackenzie’s first two wives are deceased.
A 17-year-old witness, who was also a member of Mackenzie’s church, testified before Mombasa Chief Magistrate Alex Ithuku, confirming that Muweu was once a congregant before becoming the preacher’s wife.
The witness identified Muweu in court when she was asked to stand for identification. He recounted his first encounter with her when she had brought her sister, who was unwell, to the church for prayers.
“I knew her as one of the congregants in the church when she brought her sister for prayers. After a while, we were informed that she was now ‘bibi wa mtumishi Mackenzie.’ Since then, we started calling her ‘bibi wa mtumishi,’” the witness testified.
Muweu is among 94 accused persons facing 238 counts of manslaughter in the ongoing case at the Mombasa Law Court.