Nairobi
At least five bodies have been recovered from shallow graves at a site in Kenya where victims of a religious cult are suspected to have been buried, authorities said. Excavations continued today at the site on the outskirts of Malindi, in Kilifi County, southeastern Kenya, close to where hundreds of members of a doomsday cult were found dead two years ago.
Government pathologist Dr. Richard Njoroge said on Thursday that authorities expected to find more remains.
“At the commencement of this exercise, we had 27 suspected graves. Today we managed to exhume six,” Njoroge said. He added: “Of the six graves, we found five bodies. In addition, around that area, we discovered 10 different body parts scattered in various places on the surface.”
Njoroge stressed that more graves were likely to be uncovered, noting that the search area was vast and had not yet been fully examined. “So we expect more bodies,” he said.
More than 400 bodies were exhumed from the nearby Shakahola Forest in 2023 [Photo: AP]
‘Starved and suffocated’
In July, Kenya’s Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions said it believed the victims buried at the site may have been “starved and suffocated as a result of adopting and promoting extreme religious ideologies.”
At least 11 suspects are under investigation in connection with the deaths, prosecutors said.
Residents living near the exhumation site had also reported the unexplained disappearance of several children, raising suspicions of foul play and prompting the investigation, according to the prosecutor’s office.
More than 400 bodies were exhumed from the nearby Shakahola Forest in 2023 in what became one of the world’s largest cult-related tragedies in recent history.
About the Shakahola Cult Tragedy
Paul Mackenzie, leader of the Good News International Church in Kenya, was arrested in January last year and charged with the murder of 191 children whose bodies were among 429 victims exhumed from shallow graves in Shakahola Forest, Kilifi County. Mackenzie allegedly instructed his followers to starve themselves to death so they could meet Jesus Christ before the world ended. Many victims are believed to have died from starvation, while autopsies also revealed cases of strangulation and suffocation.
Mackenzie Paul was arrested and charged [Photo: AP]
The exhumations, which began in April 2023, uncovered graves across an 800-acre ranch where Mackenzie had relocated his followers, exploiting the area’s remoteness. A Senate report found that once inside the forest, followers were forbidden from leaving or interacting freely. They were also forced to destroy vital identification documents—such as IDs, birth certificates, and property titles—making identification of the dead extremely difficult. Mackenzie and more than 30 of his followers appeared before Kenya’s High Court, but pleas were deferred pending mental health assessments. Of the 191 children’s remains, 180 remain unidentified.
Torch Media Africa
