In a chilling turn of events, the death toll connected to a Kenyan cult that engaged in starvation rituals to “meet Jesus Christ” has climbed above 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, where the first victims – some dead, others alive but weakened and emaciated – were discovered on April 13.
According to government autopsies, starvation appears to have been the main cause of death, although 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 July 3, a court in the port city of Mombasa extended his detention by a month pending investigations.
The leader of the cult, identified as Mackenzie, is currently under investigation by state prosecutors, who have suggested that he may face charges related to terrorism or genocide. However, Mackenzie has not yet been required to enter a plea, leaving many eager to see justice served for the victims and their families.
Unanswered questions persist regarding how Mackenzie, a self-proclaimed pastor and a father of seven, managed to elude law enforcement despite his history of extremism and previous encounters with the legal system.
His ability to evade authorities has raised significant doubts about the effectiveness of existing measures to track and apprehend individuals involved in dangerous ideologies.