KENYA POLICE EXHUME DOZENS OF REMAINS FROM SUSPECTED CHRISTIAN CULT GRAVES

Sun 23 Apr 2023:

Human remains were discovered from more than a dozen alleged graves in Kenya’s east as part of an inquiry into members of a Christian cult who believed starving themselves to death would bring them into heaven.

Kenyan Police began exhuming bodies on Friday, said Charles Kamau, a detective in the town of Malindi near the Shakahola forest in Kilifi county, where police rescued 15 members of the Good News International Church last week, according to footage broadcast by Citizen TV.

Unnamed police sources told the AFP news agency on Saturday that 21 bodies had been found so far and that more could yet be uncovered.

“In total since yesterday, we have 21 bodies,” a police source told AFP on condition of anonymity, referring to exhumations in the Shakahola forest outside the coastal town of Malindi.

“We have not even scratched the surface which gives a clear indication that we are likely to get more bodies by the end of this exercise,” the source added. A second police source confirmed the same toll, also on condition of anonymity, AFP reported.

On Saturday, Kenya’s NTV channel reported that seven bodies had been taken from two of the 32 possible gravesites marked out by authorities.

According to Reuters, the church’s leader, Paul Mackenzie, also known as Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, was arrested. Mackenzie’s lawyer could not be reached for comment right away. Mckenzie has been on a hunger strike in his cell since his detention last week, according to NTV.

Controversial Kilifi cult leader Paul Mackenzie has staged a hunger strike within police cells. https://t.co/MUqHQwsTpU

— NTV Kenya (@ntvkenya) April 22, 2023

According to police, the 15 rescued worshipers were urged to starve themselves to death in order to see their creator. Four of them died before reaching the hospital.

Titus Katana, a former church member, assisted cops in locating the graves.

According to Matthew Shipeta of the human rights organization Haki Africa, he saw at least 15 shallow graves in the jungle.

Helen Mikali, the manager of a children’s home who is also assisting investigators, stated that she had visited numerous nearby neighborhoods where parents and children had gone missing.

Mackenzie was detained and eventually freed by police last month for inciting the parents of two boys to starve and suffocate their children to death.

During a court appearance in that case, Mackenzie stated that he was unaware of the circumstances that led to the deaths of the two boys, and that he had been the object of malicious propaganda from some of his former colleagues, according to The Standard newspaper.

Six of Mackenzie’s associates were also arrested, according to local media.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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