Eleven Get Arrested in Mass Killing Linked to Cult in Kenya

(MENAFN) Kenyan authorities have arrested eleven individuals in connection with recently discovered mass graves in Kilifi County, where investigators have so far exhumed 34 bodies, police confirmed on Wednesday.

The latest findings suggest a disturbing resurgence of the cult tied to the infamous Shakahola massacre of 2023. Local police chief Douglas Kanja revealed that four of those detained are considered pivotal to the ongoing investigation.

"Thirty-two bodies have so far been exhumed, and two other bodies were also recovered here in this area, making a total of 34 bodies. 102 body parts have been recovered," Kanja said. "We have sent our best team here of investigators, and very soon, we will come up with a complete investigation file."

Kanja added that many of the victims were not from the local community but were brought in from other regions, radicalized, and ultimately died as a result of their indoctrination.

The discovery was made in Kwa Binzaro, a village located roughly 30 kilometers from Shakahola, where Paul Mackenzie, the alleged cult leader, had previously instructed his followers to starve themselves in anticipation of the world's end. The goal was to "meet Jesus," prosecutors claim.

In 2023, more than 430 bodies were exhumed from multiple mass graves in Shakahola forest, with autopsies revealing that most victims perished from starvation. Some victims, including children, were reported to have been beaten or strangled. Mackenzie, the head of the Good News International Church, faces charges including terrorism, murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, child torture, and cruelty. He was arrested in April 2023 after police rescued 15 severely emaciated church members.

Following the discovery in Kwa Binzaro, a Malindi court authorized the continuation of exhumations. Preliminary forensic findings from Kenya’s Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions suggest that the victims in Kwa Binzaro, much like those in Shakahola, died from starvation or suffocation.

Kenya's Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen has publicly linked the graves in Kwa Binzaro to Mackenzie’s cult activities. In response, President William Ruto’s government has vowed to implement stricter regulation of religious groups and intensify community surveillance to prevent further tragedies.

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