https://en.sputniknews.africa/20230513/kenya-starvation-cult-death-toll-climbs-to-179-1059217247.html
Kenya Starvation Cult Death Toll Climbs to 179
Kenya Starvation Cult Death Toll Climbs to 179
Sputnik Africa
Kenyan investigators unearthed 29 more bodies on Friday, bringing the number of victims linked to a doomsday starvation cult to 179, many of them children.
2023-05-13T07:54+0200
2023-05-13T07:54+0200
2023-05-13T15:59+0200
sub-saharan africa
east africa
kenya
religious cult
starvation
shakahola forest massacre (kenya starvation cult)
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Police believe most of the bodies found in a forest near the Indian Ocean town of Malindi belong to followers of Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, a taxi driver-turned-preacher who is accused of inciting them to starve to death "to meet Jesus."Coast Regional Commissioner Rhoda Onyancha, who announced the latest figures, said no person was rescued on Friday in the vast bushland.Heavy rains had stalled the search and exhumation operation last week, with the exercise resuming on Tuesday.Mackenzie has not yet been required to enter a plea, but a court ordered on Wednesday that he be detained for three more weeks pending further investigations over what has been dubbed the "Shakahola Forest Massacre".The 50-year-old founder of the Good News International Church turned himself in on April 14 after police acting on a tip-off first entered Shakahola forest.While starvation appears to be the main cause of death, some of the victims, including children, were strangled, beaten or suffocated, according to chief government pathologist Johansen Oduor.Court documents filed on Monday said some of the corpses had their organs removed, with police alleging the suspects were engaged in forced harvesting of body parts.But Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki urged caution, telling reporters on Tuesday that "it is a theory we are investigating."The case has stunned Kenyans and led President William Ruto to set up a commission of inquiry into the deaths and a task force to review regulations governing religious bodies.Another pastor accused of links to Mackenzie and to the bodies found in the forest was released on bail at a court hearing last week.
https://en.sputniknews.africa/20230511/mystery-illness-strikes-kenya-leaving-9-dead-1059183865.html
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Agence France Presse (AFP)
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death toll from kenya starvation cult, kenya cult deaths, kenya starvation cult, starvation cult, cult, kenya, kenyan cult, religious cult, investigation, kenyan police, death toll climbs to 179,
death toll from kenya starvation cult, kenya cult deaths, kenya starvation cult, starvation cult, cult, kenya, kenyan cult, religious cult, investigation, kenyan police, death toll climbs to 179,
Kenya Starvation Cult Death Toll Climbs to 179
07:54 13.05.2023 (Updated: 15:59 13.05.2023) Agence France Presse (AFP)
Kenyan investigators unearthed 29 more bodies on Friday, bringing the number of victims linked to a doomsday starvation cult to 179, many of them children.
Police believe most of the bodies found in a forest near the Indian Ocean town of Malindi belong to followers of Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, a taxi driver-turned-preacher who is accused of inciting them to starve to death "to meet Jesus."
Coast Regional Commissioner Rhoda Onyancha, who announced the latest figures, said no person was rescued on Friday in the vast bushland.
Heavy rains had stalled the search and exhumation operation last week, with the
exercise resuming on Tuesday.
Some 25 people, including Mackenzie and an "enforcer gang" tasked with ensuring that no one broke their fast or left the forest hideout alive, are in police custody, Onyancha said.
Mackenzie has not yet been required to enter a plea, but a court ordered on Wednesday that he be detained for three more weeks pending further investigations over what has been dubbed the "Shakahola Forest Massacre".
The 50-year-old founder of the Good News International Church turned himself in on April 14 after police acting on a tip-off first entered Shakahola forest.
While starvation appears to be the main cause of death, some of the victims, including children, were strangled, beaten or suffocated, according to chief government pathologist Johansen Oduor.
Court documents filed on Monday said some of the corpses had their organs removed, with police alleging the suspects were engaged in forced harvesting of body parts.
But Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki urged caution, telling reporters on Tuesday that "it is a theory we are investigating."
The case has stunned Kenyans and led President William
Ruto to set up a commission of inquiry into the deaths and a task force to review regulations governing religious bodies.
Another pastor accused of links to Mackenzie and to the bodies found in the forest was released on bail at a court hearing last week.
