Eleven suspects arrested in mass cult case
Eleven suspects have been arrested in connection with newly uncovered mass graves in Kilifi County, where investigators have so far exhumed 34 bodies, Kenyan police said on Wednesday.
Officials say the discovery points to the resurgence of the cult linked to the Shakahola tragedy in 2023. Local police chief Douglas Kanja stated that four of those detained are considered central 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.”
The chief noted many of the victims were not locals, but had been brought in from elsewhere, radicalized, and ultimately lost their lives as a result.
Kwa Binzaro is a village in the province of Kilifi, and lies about 30km from Shakahola, where prosecutors say alleged cult leader Paul Mackenzie instructed his followers to starve themselves in anticipation of the end of the world in order to “meet Jesus.”
In 2023, more than 430 bodies were exhumed from dozens of mass graves in the Shakahola forest. Autopsies revealed that most victims had died of starvation, while some, including children, were reportedly beaten or strangled. Mackenzie, leader of the Good News International Church and self-proclaimed pastor, has been charged with terrorism, murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, child torture and cruelty. He was arrested in April 2023 after police rescued 15 emaciated church members.
In July, a Malindi court authorized the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to continue exhumations in Kwa Binzaro. Kenya’s Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions later said preliminary forensic findings suggested victims there also died from starvation or suffocation.
Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen has publicly linked the Kwa Binzaro graves to Mackenzie’s cult. Kenyan President William Ruto’s government has pledged stricter regulation of religious groups and increased community surveillance in response.
