On Sunday, April 23, detectives and police officers performing exhumations discovered 18 more remains buried in shallow graves, bringing the total number of people exhumed to 39. As the inquiry into a macabre cult in Shakahola, Kilifi continues, 122 persons have been reported missing.

As the effort to exhume more mass graves in what is now known as the Shakahola massacre started its fourth day, 112 persons were reported missing at the tracing desk. 

PHOTO | COURTESY shakahola cult

The Kenya Red Cross tweeted early Monday that it had set up tracing and counselling stations at the Malindi Sub-County Hospital for the Shakahola response.

Pastor Paul Mackenzie, a controversial preacher who allegedly indoctrinated his followers, some of them dropped out of school. In contrast, others quit their jobs to follow a theological mirage at the core of the atrocity. Members of what is now called a religious cult were advised to fast themselves to death in exchange for the chance to meet Jesus.

Did you read this?

  1. Victim's Father: Pastor Mackenzie Made Followers Burn Academic Documents, Said Education Is Evil
  2. Mackenzie Warned Followers Against Huduma Namba, Claimed It Was The ‘Mark Of The Beast’
  3. Pastor Paul Mackenzie Pleads Not Guilty In Shakahola Massacre

Hundreds of controversial pastor followers, drawn from all regions of the country, are thought to have abandoned their homes. Some sell their belongings before travelling to Malindi to join the murderous fast.

PHOTO | COURTESY shakahola cult
Detectives have still to excavate more than 50 graves discovered on Sunday, while the number of those still alive is unknown. The church in question has been operating in the area since 2003 under the unsuspecting eyes of the locals.

Police are still rescuing people from the forests who were in appalling conditions. It has, however, been reported that some of the rescued people have refused to eat and are still going on with their fasting.