Kenyan police have discovered 58 bodies, including those of children, in mass graves after the leader of a cult reportedly instructed his followers to starve to death.
The graves are located in Shakahola forest, near the town of Malindi, where 15 members of the Good News International Church were rescued last week.
The group’s leader, Paul Makenzie Nthenge, is currently in custody pending a court appearance.
Kenyan state broadcaster KBC has labelled Nthenge a “cult leader,” and reports that 58 graves have been identified so far. The exhumations are ongoing.
Pathologists are currently conducting tests to determine whether the victims died of starvation.
Nthenge has denied any wrongdoing but has been refused bail. He allegedly told his followers to starve themselves in order to “meet Jesus”.
The preacher reportedly named three villages, Nazareth, Bethlehem, and Judea, and baptised his followers in ponds before instructing them to fast.
According to Kenyan daily The Standard, four people were discovered to have starved themselves to death, leading to Nthenge’s arrest on 15 April.
The country’s interior minister, Kithure Kindiki, has declared the 800-acre forest a crime scene and has sealed it off.
Victor Kaudo of the Malindi Social Justice Centre told Citizen TV that “when we are in this forest and come to an area where we see a big and tall cross, we know that means more than five people are buried there.”
Kenya is a religious country, and there have been previous cases of people being drawn into unregulated and dangerous churches or cults.
Compiled by Staff Writer
Pictured above: The exhumations
Image source: Twitter
