Police in Kenya have discovered the bodies of 26 more suspected cult members on land owned by a pastor who was arrested for allegedly telling his followers to fast to death to “meet Jesus”.
This brings the total number of discovered corpses linked to the movement up to 47. Charles Kamau, head of criminal investigations in the coastal town of Malindi, eastern Kenya, confirmed the discovery, saying, “Today we have exhumed 26 more bodies and this brings the total number of bodies from that place to 47.”
The investigation began following last month’s arrest of Makenzie Nthenge, leader of the Good News International Church, who allegedly instructed his followers to starve themselves to death.
Two children reportedly died in the custody of their parents due to starvation. The pastor was released on bail of 100,000 Kenyan shillings (€637) but police have requested the court’s permission to hold him in custody while investigations into the deaths of his followers continue.
Police raided Nthenge’s property in Malindi following a tipoff from members of the public and found 15 emaciated people, including four who later died. They claimed to be starving on the pastor’s instructions in order to “meet Jesus”. Digging began on Friday following reports of dozens of shallow graves across Makenzi’s farm.
The pastor has been arrested twice before in relation to the deaths of children, in 2019 and March of this year. He was released on bond both times, and both cases are still proceeding through the court. Makenzi has been on hunger strike for the past four days while in police custody. Local politicians have called on the court not to release him this time, citing the spread of cults in the Malindi area.
