Twelve new bodies were found on Monday in Chakhula Forest, where an evangelical sect practicing strict fasting gathered, bringing the death toll from the horrific scandal that rocked Kenya to 403, a provincial official said.
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• Also read: The death toll in Kenya: the death toll of the “Shakhula massacre” exceeds 300
“Our forensic team managed to exhume 12 bodies today,” Monday, the governor of the Sahel region, Rhoda Onyansha, told the press, who told AFP in a message to AFP.
Authorities expect the death toll to rise further, as searches for mass graves are still underway in a vast area of ”bush” on the Kenyan coast, nearly three months after the discovery of the first victims of what has been dubbed the “Shakaula Forest”. massacre”.
Police believe most of the exhumed bodies are followers of the Good News International Church, which was founded by Rev. Paul Nthingi MacKenzie who preached fasting until death to “meet Jesus”.
This former taxi driver has been in custody since April 14 and will be tried in particular for “terrorism”.
Sixteen others are accused of being part of a group of “thugs” responsible for ensuring that no followers eat the mushrooms or escape from the forest, located near the port city of Malindi.
Autopsies conducted so far have revealed that most of the victims died of starvation, most likely after listening to his sermons. Some of the victims, who included children, were strangled, beaten and suffocated, according to these autopsies.
This massacre caused a sensation in Kenya and put the authorities under fire of criticism because they did not prevent the actions of Pastor Mackenzie, but they were arrested several times for his harsh sermons.
It has also revived the debate over the oversight of worship in this predominantly Christian country of 4,000 “churches,” according to official figures.
President William Ruto established a task force to “review the legal and regulatory framework governing religious organizations.”
The Minister of the Interior declared that the Chocolate Forest would be transformed into a “place of memory”.
