Additional corpses detected in cult massacre case
(MENAFN) Kenyan authorities have recovered at least five bodies from shallow graves in Kilifi County, southeastern Kenya, in connection with a suspected religious cult, officials said.
Investigators exhumed remains from six graves in Kwa Binzaro village on Thursday, including two children found in a single grave. The site is near the location of the 2023 Shakahola cult massacre, where hundreds of cult followers were discovered dead.
Richard Njoroge, a government pathologist, stated that investigators had identified 27 suspected graves and managed to exhume six. Additionally, ten scattered body parts were found on the surface nearby. Authorities have called on relatives of missing persons to provide DNA samples to aid in identifying the victims.
In late July, a Malindi court authorized Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to exhume bodies suspected of being concealed in the area. Preliminary investigations suggest that victims may have been starved or suffocated due to extreme religious beliefs promoted by the cult. Survivors have been unable to account for several children, raising suspicions of foul play.
At least 11 suspects are under investigation for alleged involvement in organized crime, radicalization, facilitation of terrorism, and murder. In 2023, over 430 bodies were recovered from mass graves in the nearby Shakahola forest. Autopsies indicated most victims died from starvation, with some, including children, allegedly beaten or strangled. Paul Mackenzie, leader of the Good News International Church, faces charges of terrorism, murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, and child abuse in separate cases.
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