According to Kenyan officials, at least five bodies were exhumed from shallow graves on Thursday at a site where victims of a religious cult are suspected to have been buried.
This incident unfolded at the outskirts of Malindi in southeastern Kenya’s Kilifi County, close to where hundreds of members of a doomsday cult were found dead two years ago. Excavations are still ongoing on the site.
In 2023, over 400 bodies were found in the remote Shakahola Forest, inland from the coastal town of Malindi, near where this current incident unfolded. This incident is considered as one of the worst ever cases of cult-related mass deaths.
Kilifi County Commissioner Josephat Biwott told reporters that the bodies of the five people were discovered in four graves at the site, adding that they had dug at 27 locations.
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He said, “The exercise is still ongoing.”
According to Kenya’s Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, it suspected that victims buried at the site may have been “starved and suffocated as a result of adopting and promoting extreme religious ideologies.”
The new bodies seem to confirm fears that the cult might still be active.
Government pathologist Richard Njoroge said, “We have not exhausted the search; the area is very, very vast. So we expect more bodies.”
He added that, “This is to appeal to the members of the public who may have lost their loved ones or who may suspect that their loved ones are missing to report to Malindi District Hospital. We have a Red Cross desk there, where their details will be taken, and also their DNA samples will be taken.”
The latest exhumations were ordered in July following the disappearance of some children. The prosecutors said at least 11 suspects are under investigation in connection with the deaths.
