Fifteen new bodies were discovered on Wednesday. It was in the forest of Shakaola, in the south-east of the country, that a sect met whose leader advocated fasting to “meet Jesus”.
The toll of the “Shakahola massacre” in a forest in southeastern Kenya, where a sect whose leader advocated fasting to “meet Jesus” met, now stands at 226 dead after the discovery on Wednesday of 15 new body, announced the prefect of the region.
Police believe that most of the bodies discovered near the coastal town of Malindi are those of followers of the sect of Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, a former taxi driver, self-proclaimed “pastor” of the International Church of Good News (Good News International Church) which he created.
At the end of this Wednesday’s operations, “14 bodies were exhumed and one was found in the forest”, said the prefect of the region, Rhoda Onyancha, adding that another person had been found alive by the rescuers. .
It appears from the autopsies carried out on the first 112 bodies that most of the victims died of starvation, probably after having followed the sermons of Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, who will be prosecuted for “terrorism”.
Some victims strangled, beaten or suffocated
However, some victims, including children, were strangled, beaten or suffocated, forensic operations chief Johansen Oduor said two weeks ago.
The autopsies also revealed that there were “missing organs on some of the bodies”, underlines the Directory of Criminal Investigations in a legal document consulted on May 9 by our colleagues from AFP, evoking “trafficking in human organs well-coordinated involving several actors”.
Home Secretary Kithure Kindiki had urged caution on the matter, saying it was “a theory we are investigating”. “Morgue reports are still being finalized and I don’t want to preempt the case,” he continued.
About fifty mass graves
Paul Mackenzie has been detained since turning himself in to authorities on April 14, after police discovered the first victims in Shakahola Forest. About fifty mass graves have since been discovered.
Kenya’s most influential pastor, Ezekiel Odero, was arrested April 28 in connection with the case and later released on bail. He is under investigation because of the possible presence of bodies of some of his followers among the bodies found at Shakahola. More than 20 bank accounts belonging to him have been frozen.
This massacre has caused a stir in this religious country in East Africa and revived the debate on the supervision of worship in Kenya, a predominantly Christian country with 4,000 “churches”, according to official figures.
President William Ruto has established a task force to “review the legal and regulatory framework governing religious organizations”.
