Former Kenya Film Classification Board boss, Ezekiel Mutua, on Monday, April 24, detailed intrigues behind an undercover operation carried out on controversial pastor, Paul Mackenzie's, church in Malindi in 2017.

During an interview on Citizen TV,  Mutua noted that the operation was successful until Mackenzie was charged in court and released on a Ksh10,000 bond which he argued was a mistake currently haunting the nation. 

According to Mutua, his former agency was the first to raise the alarm after an undercover officer was sent to visit the church on numerous occasions.

The KFCB officer then reported his findings to the board, highlighting that the pastor's TV station was airing radicalisation content.

Consequently, the board moved in to regulate the programmes, coordinating with the anti-terror police to raid the station. The police seized equipment for further investigations and scientific analysis.

After it was determined that the pastor's content radicalised families, the pastor was arrested and taken to court.

"In 2017, we flagged some content that belonged to the church. It bordered on radicalisation. The teachings were on people not taking their children to school, taking medicine and disobeying govt including the Huduma Namba.

"We took him to court and that was the best that we could do. The police were very cooperative but the court slapped him with a Ksh10,000 bond," he stated.

Mutua indicated that the matter had not been dispensed with by the time he left KFCB in 2021.

"We followed him until the time I left KFCB. The matter was still in court," he added.

Mutua's sentiments were echoed by the Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome, who stated that the pastor was released in 2017 after being arraigned in court.

"The accused was also arrested and arraigned in Court on March 23, 2023, before the Court released him on Ksh10,000 cash bail. He was rearrested on April 14, 2023, after he surrendered himself to the Police, and thereafter arraigned in Malindi Law Courts on  April 17, 2023.

"A Custodial Order of fourteen days (14) was granted to enable police to conclude their investigations," the IG indicated.

Notably, the lapse between government agencies since the unravelling of the mass graves in Shakahola Forest saw various lobby groups and politicians call for the resignation of the IG of police and senior National Intelligence Service (NIS) bosses.

According to data from the police, 29 people were rescued alive, while 58 bodies were discovered in the forest since Mackenzie's arrest on April 15. 

However, various media and civil organisations indicated that the death toll rose to 73.