Sect in Kenya: the death toll rises to 89 worshippers presumed dead
Body bags laid out at the scene where dozens of bodies were found in shallow graves in the village of Shakahola, near the coastal town of Malindi, southern Kenya, Monday, April 24, 2023. AP
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In Kenya, the death toll among suspected cult followers continues to climb on April 25, 2023 with now a total of 89 bodies discovered in a forest in the east of the country. "We don't know how many mass graves, how many bodies we will discover," Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki said when he visited the site.
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In Kenya, 16 new bodies of alleged members of a sect advocating extreme fasting were found on April 25, 2023 at midday, bringing the death toll to 89 in this case that arouses horror and indignation in the country.
The death toll remains provisional as the search continues in the Shakahola Forest in eastern Kenya. "We don't know how many mass graves, how many bodies we will discover," Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki said on a visit in the early afternoon.
« Crime of genocide »
The latter attacked the leader of the International Church of Good News, Paul Mackenzie. "Beyond terrorism, I firmly believe that a case can be built to accuse Mr. Mackenzie and all his collaborators – including those who helped him dig graves and dispose of the bodies of people who were murdered – it is possible to charge them with a crime of genocide, under international law and Kenyan law," he added in a statement to the media.
Paul Mackenzie has surrendered to police and is in custody with six of his followers. The case is due to be heard in court on 2 May 2023. But his case raises questions about potential security and legislative flaws. Paul Mackenzie had already been arrested in 2017 and 2019, and again last month after the starvation death of two children: he had been released on bail.
During his speech to the media, the Minister of the Interior drew a parallel between what Kenya now calls the "Shakahola Forest Massacre" and the Jonestown massacre of more than 900 worshippers in Guyana in 1978, or the sarin gas attack perpetrated by the Aum Shinrikyo sect. in the Tokyo subway in 1995. "I am convinced that what happened here in Shakahola is the turning point in Kenya's handling of serious security threats caused by religious extremists," he said.
A total of 34 people were also "found alive," Kithure Kindiki said.
>> READ ALSO: Kenya: 73 bodies of alleged faithful of a sect exhumed, President Ruto comes out of the silence
Members of the Kenya Red Cross Society and police officers caring for an emaciated member of a cult called Good News International Church, in the Shakahola forest of Kilifi County, Kenya, April 23, 2023. REUTERS - STRINGER
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