{"id":3399,"date":"2023-06-13T20:41:26","date_gmt":"2023-06-13T20:41:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africaparrot.com\/?p=3399"},"modified":"2023-06-13T20:41:28","modified_gmt":"2023-06-13T20:41:28","slug":"kenya-starvation-cult-death-toll-exceeds-300-official","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/africaparrot.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/13\/kenya-starvation-cult-death-toll-exceeds-300-official\/","title":{"rendered":"Kenya starvation cult death toll exceeds 300: official"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The death toll in an investigation has been linked to a Kenyan cult that practiced starvation to “meet Jesus Christ” has surpassed 300 after 19 new bodies were found Tuesday, a senior official said.<\/p>

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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 has been in police custody since April 14.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He is due to face charges of “terrorism” in the case which has rocked the east African nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The death toll has now risen to 303 after the 19 bodies were exhumed,” regional commissioner Rhoda Onyancha said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The toll remains provisional, and the authorities in the East African country fear the true number of dead could be much higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The search for mass graves is still under way in the Shakahola forest, where the first victims — some dead, others alive but weakened and emaciated — were discovered on April 13.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since then, the series of grim discoveries has revealed a macabre scandal, dubbed the “Shakahola forest massacre”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Investigations have been extended beyond the original 325 hectares to cover almost 15,000 hectares. More than 600 people have been reported missing by concerned relatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Police believe that most of the bodies exhumed were those of followers of the Good News International Church, an evangelical sect founded in 2003 by the self-proclaimed “pastor” Mackenzie, who advocated fasting until death in order to “meet Jesus”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n