KENYA’S Interior Minister, Kithure Kindiki, has confirmed that the death toll among followers of a Kenyan cult has now risen to 89. The cult believed they would go to heaven if they starved themselves. The deaths occurred in an 800-acre area of the Shakahola forest in eastern Kenya where the self-proclaimed Good News International Church was based. The toll has steadily risen as authorities have carried out exhumations of mass graves found in the forest.
Speaking to reporters at the scene, Kindiki said that 16 more bodies had been discovered, bringing the total to 89. He also stated that three more people had been rescued alive, bringing the total number of survivors found so far to 34. The Kenyan Red Cross has set up a tracing and counselling desk at a local hospital, with more than 200 people reported missing.
‘We thank God for saving the lives of those dear ones and we pray that God will help them to go through the trauma, to help them recover and tell the story of how one time a fellow Kenyan, a fellow human, decided to hurt so many people, heartlessly, hiding under the Holy Scriptures,’ said Kindiki.
The cult’s leader, Paul Mackenzie, was arrested on April 14 following a tip-off that suggested the existence of shallow graves containing the bodies of large numbers of his followers. It has been reported that Mackenzie is refusing food and water. Reuters has been unable to reach any lawyer or representative for Mackenzie. Police have confirmed that 14 more cult members are in custody.
