New bodies found near the Shakahola forest

Nine bodies have been exhumed from fresh tombs suspected of being linked to the notorious Kenya famine worship.

In one of the worst cases of mass death linked to worship, more than 400 bodies were found in 2023 in the isolated forest of Shakahola, inside the land of the coastal city of Malindi.

They think they were followers of the self -proclaimed pastor Paul Mackenzie, who would have encouraged them to hung up to death.

These exhumations were ordered in July after the disappearance of certain children sparked a new probe. Prosecutors said 11 people were arrested in the case, three of whom were followers of Mr. Mackenzie at the time of the “Shakahola forest massacre”.

The latest discoveries seem to confirm the fears expressed by the government earlier in the year that worship could still be active.

In April, Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said there were allegations that Mackenzie was actively communicating with his prison supporters – using a mobile phone.

Mr. Mackenzie, who was arrested last year and pleaded not guilty of guilty manslaughter, would have told his disciples that they would arrive more quickly in paradise if they stopped eating.

According to the AFP news agency, a Mombasa court postponed its current affair earlier this month, citing the discovery of new evidence.

Five bodies were found on the exhumation site of the village of Kwa Binzaro near the Shakahola forest on Thursday and four other bodies on Friday.

“We have not exhausted research; the region is very, very vast. So we expect more bodies,” the pathologist Richard Njoroge told the Reuters news agency on Thursday.

“It is to appeal to the members of the public who may have lost their relatives or who can suspect that their loved ones are missed to come to the Malindi district hospital. We have a Red Cross office there, where their contact details will be taken, and also their DNA samples will be taken.”

The exhumation of 18 additional graves is expected to continue on Monday.

In July, the office of the director of public prosecutions of Kenya said that he thought that those who were buried would have been “hungry and stifled following the adoption and promotion of extreme religious ideologies”.

Hussein Khalid, human rights activist and CEO of Vocal Africa, witnessed exhumations on Thursday.

“The first body that was found in itself seemed to have been put quite recently there – two to three weeks in IL.

He said the situation in one of the graves was referring to a unfair game.

“None of them was found, but it seemed a few days ago, someone, some people or a group had to have deleted the corpse that was there,” said Khalid, adding that only children and women ‘underwear had been left behind.

“This has sent a scary message that the person or people who are buried there may be women and children.”