Shakahola massacre in Kenya: the death toll continues to rise
•Forensic experts and homicide detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), sort the exhumed bodies of suspected followers of the sect, in the Shakahola forest of Kilifi County, May 11, 2023. REUTERS - STRINGER
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
In Kenya, the new toll of the "massacre of the Shakahola forest" rises to 201 dead after the discovery, Saturday, May 13, of 22 new bodies, presumed to be those of the followers of a sect. The region's prefect, Rhoda Onyancha, said 26 people had been arrested so far, including sectarian leader Paul Nthenge Mackenzie. This former taxi driver, self-proclaimed "pastor" of the International Church of Good News, invited the faithful of the sect to fast to "meet Jesus".
Advertising
Read more
With our correspondent in Nairobi, Albane Thirouard
Families continue to flock to the area, hoping to hear from their loved ones, suspected of being followers of the sect.
The Kenya Red Cross Society has registered more than 600 reports of missing persons at its on-site tracing office.
The human toll is likely to rise while excavations are not yet completed in the forest. Investigators have more than 300 hectares of land to comb through.
Autopsies have already been performed on a hundred bodies. Initial results indicate that most of the victims died of starvation. However, some of them, including children, were strangled, beaten or suffocated. The families of the faithful were called to come and take DNA samples to facilitate the identification of the bodies.
The investigation is ongoing. 26 people were arrested. Among them is self-proclaimed pastor Paul Mackenzie Nthenge. His detention was extended by 30 days by a Kenyan court on Wednesday 10 May.
A second pastor, Ezekiel Odero, was also arrested last month but was released on bail. However, the Kenyan judiciary ordered the freezing of more than twenty bank accounts in his name. This very popular televangelist is suspected of having links with Paul Mackenzie Nthenge, because he would have received money from his followers.
In response to the debate surrounding the case, President William Ruto appointed a commission to investigate the circumstances that allowed the events in Shakahola to take place.
► Read also: Shakahola massacre in Kenya: autopsies reveal missing organs on some of the bodies
Newsletter Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
Read on on the same topics:
- Kenya
- Justice
- Religion