Autopsies on bodies discovered in mass graves connected to a Kenyan starvation cult have unveiled missing organs, raising suspicions of forced harvesting, investigators announced. Exhumations resumed on Tuesday, revealing further corpses. The so-called “Shakahola forest massacre” has shocked the predominantly Christian nation since the discovery of the mass graves last month.
Authorities believe most of the bodies found near Malindi, on Kenya’s Indian Ocean coast, were followers of self-proclaimed pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, accused of ordering them to starve to death “to meet Jesus.” While starvation seems to be the primary cause of death, some victims, including children, were strangled, beaten, or suffocated, according to chief government pathologist Johansen Oduor.
Court documents filed on Monday revealed that some corpses had organs removed, leading police to allege that the suspects were involved in forced harvesting of body parts. Chief Inspector Martin Munene stated in an affidavit filed to a Nairobi court that “post-mortem reports have established missing organs in some of the bodies of victims who have been exhumed.”
Munene also mentioned that high-profile televangelist Ezekiel Odero, arrested last month in connection with the case and granted bail on Thursday, received “huge cash transactions” allegedly from Mackenzie’s followers who sold their property at the cult leader’s request.
Exhumations recommenced on Tuesday after being suspended due to inclement weather. Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki, who visited the site on Tuesday, said, “We have resumed the exhumation exercise because we believe that there are more bodies inside this place.” He added that the tragedy in Shakahola was one of the worst the country had ever known.
A multi-agency team is currently exhuming at least 20 mass graves thought to contain “several victims.” Kindiki fears that many more graves exist in the forest, suggesting that the crime was highly organised.
Questions have arisen regarding how Mackenzie evaded law enforcement, despite his history of extremism and prior legal cases. The former taxi driver turned himself in on 14 April after police first entered Shakahola forest, where approximately 50 shallow mass graves have now been found.
Prosecutors have requested that Mackenzie, who founded the Good News International Church in 2003, be held for another 90 days until investigations are concluded. Senior Principal Magistrate Yusuf Shikanda is set to rule on the request on Wednesday.
President William Ruto has promised a crackdown on Kenya‘s homegrown religious movements in the wake of the ordeal, highlighting previous failed attempts to regulate unscrupulous churches and cults.
Image Credit: Photo by Ian Macharia on Unsplash
