Kenya ‘cult’ investigation widens as death toll reaches 90
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The death toll at a ranch in Kenya owned by a pastor who is accused of leading a religious cult and ordering his followers to starve themselves in order to “meet Jesus” has reached 90, as the country’s interior minister announced an expanded operation at the site.
The new figure came after police exhumed 17 more bodies. The total number of those rescued while starving at the ranch now stands at 34. The Kenya Red Cross Society’s latest figure on the number of missing is 213.
Pastor Paul Mackenzie Nthenge, who heads the Good News International church, is accused of luring his followers to the ranch near the coastal town of Malindi. He allegedly told them to fast until death in order to meet Jesus before burying them in shallow graves spread across his land. He was arrested after police raided the property earlier this month, and he remains in police custody pending a court appearance.
Interior minister Kithure Kindiki said the security team will “upscale search and rescue missions to save as many lives as possible”. “The entire 800-acre (320-hectare) parcel of land that is part of the Shakahola ranch is hereby declared a disturbed area and an operation zone,” Kindiki said while visiting the area.
The minister said there would be a turning point on how the country handles threats caused by religious extremism and was looking into another suspected cult in the same county.
“We have cast the net wider to another religious organisation here in Kilifi. We have opened a formal inquiry on this religious group and we are getting crucial leads that perhaps [this] is a tip of the iceberg,” Kindiki said.
Content retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/26/kenya-cult-investigation-widens-as-death-toll-reaches-90.
