Fears were growing in Kenya yesterday that there could be more victims of a starvation cult, as investigators resumed their searches after finding dozens of corpses in mass graves.
Police have spent days scouring the Shakahola forest near the coastal town of Malindi after receiving a tip-off about a cult led by Paul Mackenzie Nthenge, who urged his followers to starve to death in order to find god.
Police sources late on Monday said that the death toll was 73, with a number of people rescued and taken to hospital.
Photo: Reuters
The grim discovery has sent shock waves through the nation, prompting Kenyan President William Ruto to pledge a crackdown on “unacceptable” religious movements amid fears that the toll was set to climb higher.
“We believe there are more,” Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome told reporters on Monday.
It is believed some followers of the Good News International Church could still be hiding in the bush around Shakahola and at risk of death if not quickly found.
Hussein Khalid, executive director of the rights group Haki Africa that tipped off the police, urged the authorities to send more rescuers to scour the 325 hectares of woodland for survivors.
“Each day that passes by there is very high possibility that more are dying,” he said. “The horror that we have seen over the last four days is traumatizing. Nothing prepares you for shallow mass graves of children.”
Investigators said they found bodies squeezed into shallow pits — with up to six people inside one grave — while others were simply left outside on the ground.
Kenyan Minister of Interior and National Administration Kithure Kindiki yesterday announced plans to visit the site, while Ruto vowed to take action against rogue pastors like Nthenge, “who want to use religion to advance weird, unacceptable ideology,” comparing them to terrorists.
As the Kenyan authorities try to uncover the true scale of what is being dubbed the “Shakahola Forest Massacre,” questions have emerged about how the cult was able to operate undetected, despite Nthenge attracting police attention six years ago.
The televangelist in 2017 was arrested on charges of “radicalization” after urging families not to send their children to school, saying education was not recognized by the Bible.
He was arrested again last month, local media reported, after two children starved to death in the custody of their parents.
He was released on bail of 100,000 Kenyan shillings (US$737) before surrendering to police following the Shakahola raid.
The case is due to be heard on Tuesday next week.
The Kenya Red Cross said 212 people had been reported missing to its support staff in Malindi, out of which two were reunited with their families.
The case has prompted calls for tighter control of fringe denominations in a nation with a troubling history of self-declared pastors and cults that have dabbled in criminality.
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