The death toll in an investigation linked to a Kenyan cult that practiced starvation to "meet Jesus Christ" has exceeded 400 after 12 more bodies were found on Monday, a senior official said. "Total death toll: 403," Coast Regional Commissioner Rhoda Onyancha told AFP in a message, following the latest round of exhumations in the Shakahola forest, where cult leader Paul Nthenge Mackenzie allegedly urged followers to starve to death.
"Exhumation continues tomorrow," Onyancha added, as investigators search for more graves in the forest. The first victims—some dead, others alive but weakened and emaciated—were discovered on April 13. Government autopsies show starvation was the main cause of death. However, some victims, including children, were strangled, beaten, or suffocated.
Mackenzie, a former taxi driver turned preacher, has been in police custody since mid-April. On Thursday, July 3, a court in Mombasa extended his detention by a month pending investigations.
State prosecutors have said he is facing terrorism- or genocide-related charges, but he has not yet been required to plead.
The self-proclaimed pastor and father of seven founded the Good News International Church in 2003. Questions have been raised about how he managed to evade law enforcement despite a history of extremism and previous legal cases. It has also drawn President William Ruto's attention to the sensitive subject of Kenya's homegrown religious movements and failed efforts to
regulate unscrupulous churches and cults that dabble in criminality. There are more than 4 000 churches registered in the East African country of around 50 million people, according to government figures.
The site where the bodies were recovered
A worst-ever security breach
Mackenzie fell foul of the law in 2017 after being accused of urging children not to attend school, claiming the Bible did not recognize education. He was arrested again in March after two children starved to death in their parents' custody, but was subsequently freed on bond.
Following the discovery of the mass graves near the Indian Ocean town of Malindi, Mackenzie, his wife, and 16 other defendants were taken into custody. The 16 men are accused of operating an armed "enforcer gang" tasked with ensuring that no one breaks their fast or leaves their forest hideout alive. They remain in jail.
Mackenzie's wife, who was held for 62 days, was released earlier this month on a 100,000 Kenya shilling ($707) bond. Last month, 65 of his followers who were rescued were charged with attempted suicide after refusing to eat, drawing condemnation from rights groups.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights said the move was "inappropriate and will traumatize survivors at a time when they most desperately require empathy". Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki last week accused the police of laxity in investigating starvation reports in the forest.
Kindiki, who spoke before a Senate committee probing the saga, also laid blame on the judiciary for their handling of earlier cases involving Mackenzie. He said prosecutors should have kept him in jail.
"The Shakahola massacre is the largest breach of security in our country," he said, vowing to "relentlessly push for legal reforms to tame rogue preachers."
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