NAIROBI, Kenya — The number of people who have died after a Kenyan pastor ordered his followers to starve to meet Jesus surpassed 300, authorities said Tuesday, with the death toll expected to rise due to that more exhumations are planned.
The death toll rose to 303 after 19 more bodies were exhumed from mass graves in the sprawling woodland of Kilifi County, on the Kenyan coast, where pastor Paul Mackenzie and his followers lived.
The regional commissioner for the coast, Rhoda Onyancha, told local journalists that the number of those rescued amounts to 95, while there are 613 missing.
On Monday, 65 of those rescued were charged with attempted suicide after going on a hunger strike to protest being held at a rescue center. They were transferred to a jail.
Those rescued in April were emaciated and received treatment at Malindi hospital before being transferred to the rescue center.
Mackenzie, the pastor whose followers were rescued, is expected to appear in court again this week as police have been given more time to hold him pending investigations.
The pastor had previously been charged in connection with the disappearance of the
children, but was released on bail. Kenyan President William Ruto has likened him to a terrorist.
Home Minister Kindiki Kithure stated that more mass graves had been assigned to the exhumation and hinted that the pastor could be charged with terrorism or genocide.
