After 19 additional bodies were discovered on Tuesday, a top official reported that the death toll in an investigation connected to a Kenyan cult that practiced starvation to “meet Jesus Christ” had surpassed 300.
“The death toll has now risen to 303 after the 19 bodies were exhumed,” Coast Regional Commissioner Rhoda Onyancha said.
The majority of the bodies discovered in a jungle close to the town of Malindi on the Indian Ocean are thought to be those of Paul Nthenge Mackenzie’s followers, a former cab driver turned preacher who has been in police detention since April 14.
He will likely be charged with “terrorism” in the scandal that has shook the nation of East Africa.
The founder of the Good News International Church, age 50, surrendered on April 14 after police entered Shakahola woodland on a tip-off.
According to leading government pathologist Johansen Oduor, although malnutrition appears to be the primary cause of death, some of the deceased, including children, were strangled, beaten, or suffocated.
There have been concerns about how Mackenzie, a father of seven, avoided being apprehended despite having a history of extremism and prior legal troubles.
The story has shocked Kenyans and prompted President William Ruto to form a task force to review laws controlling religious organisations as well as a commission to investigate the killings.
At a court hearing, a second pastor who had been accused of having connections to Mackenzie and the cult deaths discovered in the forest was granted bail.
The wealthy and well-known televangelist Ezekiel Odero is under investigation for a number of offenses, including murder, aiding suicide, kidnapping, radicalisation, crimes against humanity, child abuse, fraud, and money laundering.
