The figures are provisional and officials in the East African country fear the true death toll could be much higher. Excavations are still underway in the Shakahola Forest in Malindi Province, where the first victims were discovered on April 13. As of late May, more than 600 people were still missing.
Kenyan authorities exhume bodies in Shakahola forest
While starvation appears to be the main cause of death, some of the victims, including children, showed signs of strangulation, beatings and organ loss, according to Johansen Oduor, a Kenyan government pathologist. Police believe most of the bodies exhumed were from followers of a cult founded in 2003 by a man named Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, who urges his followers to fast to death to reach heaven.
Who is the cult leader who forced followers to "starve to death" to go to heaven?
Mackenzie has been in police custody since April 14 on terrorism charges. But many questions remain about how the taxi driver managed to evade law enforcement despite his extremist past. Residents of Malindi province told The Washington Post that they first heard about Mackenzie around 2017. At that time, Mackenzie was accused of inciting children to skip school and was later arrested in connection with the deaths of children in his church. In 2019, Malindi residents burned down Mackenzie’s “church.”
At least 35 people suspected of being linked to Mackenzie have been arrested. Among them, Ezekiel Odero, a pastor close to Mackenzie, is also being investigated for crimes including murder, assisted suicide, kidnapping, radicalization, crimes against humanity, cruelty to children, fraud and money laundering.
The shocking case has reignited debate over regulations in Kenya, a country with 4,000 "churches" run by religious sects. President William Ruto has ordered the establishment of a special committee to review regulations governing religious organizations in the country.
From the fasting cult to death, looking back at the mass deaths caused by fanaticism
In another development, Kenyan Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki said that after the search for survivors and bodies ends, a ceremony will be held at Shakahola Forest and the government will turn the area into a national memorial so that Kenya and the world will not forget what happened, according to The Washington Post.
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