Kenya's Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki has provided the media with new details about the case of a starvation cult, saying that children account for most of the 109 bodies so far recovered from mass graves linked to the cult.
"The reports we are getting are that many of the recoveries are of children... Children are the majority, followed by women. Men are fewer," Kindiki told media.
The minister also emphasized that starvation may not be the only thing that killed the cult followers.
"The preliminary reports we are getting is that some of the victims may not have died of starvation. There were other methods used, including hurting them, just by physical and preliminary observations," the official said.
Kindiki, who called those responsible for the deaths terrorists, also announced the beginning of an aerial search over the Shakahola forest, where the bodies that are now being exhumed were found. He said that autopsies of the bodies will begin Monday.
According to Kindiki, next week, the government will announce new measures to regulate churches.
The cult's leader, Paul Mackenzie, was arrested on April 14 following a tip-off and another 14 cult members are in custody, according to police. Kenyan media have reported that Mackenzie is refusing food and water.
On Tuesday, another Kenyan pastor, Ezekiel Odero, was detained as part of an investigation related to cult-like deaths.