At least 112 people have been reported missing as the Shakahola cult probe continues.
In a statement on Sunday, Kenya Red Cross said they had received reports on 112 missing persons after setting up a tracing desk in Malindi.
“We have set up tracing and counselling desks at the Malindi Sub-County Hospital for the Shakahola response. So far 112 people have been reported missing at the tracing desk,” Kenya Red Cross said.
As of Sunday, April 23, 2023, detectives had exhumed 47 bodies at Shakahola forest in Malindi in three days.
Shakahola, the cult of death
The members are said to have starved themselves to death after instructions from a religious cult leader, Pastor Makenzie Nthenge, who told them they have to starve to death to “meet Jesus”.
This comes even as the saga attracted the attention of the country’s top leadership, with Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome set to visit the exhumation site on Monday, April 24, 2023.
So far, police officers investigating the matter have identified 58 graves even as Makenzie told them they will find more than 1,000 people who had gone to “meet Jesus”.
In a statement on Sunday, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki termed the deaths as a “massacre” that had gone beyond the freedom of worship.
“The unfolding Shakahola Forest Massacre is the clearest abuse of the constitutionally enshrined human right to freedom of worship. Prima facie, large-scale crimes under Kenyan law, as well as international law, have been committed. While the State remains respectful of religious freedom, this horrendous blight on our conscience must lead not only to the most severe punishment of the perpetrator(s) of the atrocity on so many innocent souls but tighter regulation (including self-regulation) of every church, mosque, temple or synagogue going forward,” Kindiki stated.
Kindiki is set to visit the area on Tuesday, April 25, 2023. The 800-acre Shakahola forest where the victims and cult followers have been hiding has been declared an active crime scene with more police officers deployed.
The main suspect, Pastor Nthenge, who is the head of the Good News International Church, surrendered to police in March and was charged after two kids died of starvation while in their parents’ care.
He was released on a Ksh100,000 cash bail but was later re-arrested on April 15, 2023, after more bodies were found in relation to the same.
