Three bodies exhumed in Kenya as religious cult probe deepens
Kenyan police said Friday that they had exhumed three bodies in the country's east, presumed to be members of a religious cult believed to have starved themselves to death.
"The exhumation process is still ongoing, and so far we have three bodies," said Charles Kamau, Malindi district criminal investigations chief, indicating that neither the identities nor the cause of death of the trio were known.
According to local media, Makenzie Nthenge, the leader of the Good News International Church, surrendered to police and was charged last month after two children died of starvation while in the custody of their parents.
He was later released on $100,000 Kenyan shilling ($700) bail.
Last Saturday, police announced his arrest after discovering the bodies of four followers whom he allegedly told to starve themselves in order to "meet Jesus."
Eleven more churchgoers, the youngest of whom was only 17 years old, were taken to hospital, three of whom were in critical condition, after being rescued a week ago when the first bodies were discovered in a forest outside the eastern coastal town of Malindi.
The latest bodies, according to Kamau, were discovered in the Shakahola forest after investigators combed an area thought to contain a common grave.
After receiving information about the deaths of "ignorant citizens starving to death under the pretext of meeting Jesus after being brainwashed" by Nthenge, police raided the forest.
Leave A Comment