Kenyan investigators exhume 21 more bodies as they resume search for followers of doomsday cult

On May 9, Kenyan investigators resumed their search for members of a doomsday cult and exhumed 21 additional bodies, bringing the death toll to 133. Paul Mackenzie, the leader of the cult, is among the 16 suspects accused of operating a well-armed “enforcer gang” responsible for preventing followers from leaving their forest hideout or breaking their fast.

Although Mackenzie is currently in custody, hundreds of people are still missing, and the search operation had to be temporarily suspended due to adverse weather conditions.

During a visit to the Shakahola forest where workers in hazmat suits and masks were excavating graves, Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki addressed the press, stating that many more graves have been discovered, leading them to conclude that this was a highly organized crime.

While starvation appears to be the primary cause of death, some victims, including children, were also strangled, beaten, or suffocated, according to chief government pathologist Johansen Oduor. Moreover, some corpses had their organs removed, as per court documents filed on Monday, and the police allege that the suspects were engaged in forced harvesting of body parts.

In an affidavit filed to a Nairobi court, chief inspector Martin Munene stated that “post-mortem reports have established missing organs in some of the bodies of victims who have been exhumed” and that it is “believed that trade on human body organs has been well-coordinated involving several players.”

Additionally, the inspector mentioned high-profile televangelist Ezekiel Odero, who was arrested in April in connection with the same case and released on bail last Thursday. Odero allegedly received “huge cash transactions” from Mackenzie’s followers who sold their property at the cult leader’s behest.

Mackenzie’s lawyer, George Kariuki, confirmed that his client was cooperating with the police and wanted the investigation to be more comprehensive. Kariuki urged the police to keep an open mind in solving the case and not to focus solely on Mackenzie.