47 dead bodies have been discovered in shallow graves by the Police in Shakahola forest, Kenya, after Pastor Paul Mackenzie Nthenge told his members to starve themselves to death to see Jesus. (Read More Here)?
State broadcaster KBC described him as a “cult leader”, and reported that 58 graves have so far been identified.
One of the graves is believed to contain the bodies of five members of the same family – three children and their parents.
Mr Nthenge has denied wrongdoing, but has been refused bail. He insists that he shut down his church in 2019.
He allegedly told followers to starve themselves in order to “meet Jesus”.
Kenyan daily, The Standard, said pathologists will take DNA samples and conduct tests to determine whether the victims died of starvation.
Police arrested Mr Nthenge on 15 April after discovering the bodies of four people suspected of having starved themselves to death.
Victor Kaudo of the Malindi Social Justice Centre told Citizen TV “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”.
Kenyan interior minister, Kithure Kindiki, said all 800 acres of the forest had been sealed off and declared a crime scene.
Mr Nthenge allegedly named three villages Nazareth, Bethlehem and Judea and baptised followers in ponds before telling them to fast, The Standard reports.
The bodies of children were among the dead. Police said exhumations are ongoing.
The shallow graves are in Shakahola forest, where 15 members of the Good News International Church were rescued last week.
Church leader, Paul Makenzie Nthenge is in custody, pending a court appearance. Kindiki emphasized that the unfolding Shakahola Forest Massacre is the clearest abuse of the constitutionally enshrined human right to freedom of worship.
He insisted that tighter regulations on religious institutions must be put in place moving forward to hinder such atrocities that affect innocent Kenyans.
“While the State remains respectful of religious freedom, this horrendous blight on our consience must lead not only to the most severe punishment of the perpetrator(s) of the atrocity on so many innocent souls, but tighter regulation (including self-regulation) of every church, mosque, temple or synagogue going forward,”the Interior Boss stated.
Police are holding Mackenzie for 14 days to conclude investigations over his ‘radical’ teachings where he asks his followers to fast for days without water or food until they die of starvation.
He is yet to be charged officially.
On Monday, police got court orders to exhume 14 bodies of people who are believed to have died after starving for days on instructions of Mackenzie.
Since Wednesday, officers drawn from the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) have been mapping the vast Shakahola land for graves.
On Friday afternoon, homicide detectives and government pathologists began the exhumation exercises in an area that had about eight fresh graves.
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