Three bodies exhumed in Kenya as cult probe deepens
One of three bodies exhumed from two shallow graves located on land belonging to Pastor Paul Mackenzie of Good News International Church at Shakahola Village, Kilifi, on April 21, 2023.
What you need to know:
- Makenzie Nthenge, leader of the Good News International Church, turned himself in to police and was charged last month, according to local media, after two children starved to death in the custody of their parents.
Kenyan police said Friday that they had exhumed three bodies, presumed members of a religious cult believed to have starved themselves to death, in the east of the country as they widened an inquiry.
"The exhumation process is still ongoing and so far we have three bodies," said Charles Kamau, criminal investigations chief of the Malindi district, indicating that neither the identities of the trio nor the cause of death were known.
Makenzie Nthenge, leader of the Good News International Church, turned himself in to police and was charged last month, according to local media, after two children starved to death in the custody of their parents.
He was later released on bail of 100,000 Kenyan shillings ($700).
Police reported his arrest last Saturday after discovering the bodies of four followers he reportedly told to starve themselves in order to "meet Jesus".
Eleven other followers of the church -- the youngest just 17 -- were taken to hospital, three of them in critical condition, after being rescued a week ago when the first bodies were discovered in a forest outside the eastern coastal town of Malindi.
Kamau said the latest bodies were likewise found in the Shakahola forest after investigators combed an area thought to contain a common grave.
Police raided the forest after receiving information of the deaths on "ignorant citizens starving to death under the pretext of meeting Jesus after being brainwashed" by Nthenge.
