Over 400 People Found Dead, Allegedly Connected to Doomsday Cult
Authorities in Kenya have exhumed the bodies of over 400 people that are said to have died in connection with a doomsday cult.
Officials in the area told the Associated Press (AP) that they believe all of the victims to be followers of a doomsday cult in the coastal town of Malindi led by a local pastor, named Paul Mackenzie, who allegedly ordered them to fast to death in order to meet Jesus.
Mackenzie has denied the allegations, previously telling CNN in June he has “never seen anybody starving.” Per the BBC, it's said he also told the Kenyan Nation newspaper, "Is there a house maybe or an enclosure or a fence somewhere that has been found [at the farm] where people might have been locked in?"
New developments in the story, which first broke back in April of this year, came earlier this week when Coast Regional Commissioner Rhoda Onyancha told the outlet that an additional 12 bodies were exhumed on Monday, July 17, bringing the total number of those who have died in connection to the Good News International Church to 403.
Of the 403 bodies uncovered, pathologists said a majority were already in advanced states of decomposition, though, Onyancha noted that 253 of the bodies had undergone DNA matching.
Onyancha added that an additional 95 followers had been rescued, and detectives are still working to locate more mass graves as some 613 people have been reported missing to Kenya Red Cross officers in Malindi.
In May, relatives of those involved with the cult began speaking out, Stephen Mwiti, whose wife and six children joined the cult and are possibly among those who died, told Reuters: "He [Mackenzie] told them to starve themselves ahead of the world’s end on April 15, saying he would be that last one and that he would lock the doors."
Local hospital staff that spoke on the clause of anonymity also confirmed Mwiti's statements, telling Reuters that survivors described similar accounts. "He [Mackenzie] had an elaborate plan of killing children, youths and then adults, telling them he would be the last one to starve himself to death," one recalled.
While the search for the missing continues, AP reported that Mackenzie, along with 36 other suspects, are currently in police custody, but none of them have been charged.
Kenya's president, William Ruto, said what transpired in Malindi was "akin to terrorism" and vowed to crack down on "those using religion to advance their heinous acts."
It is believed that Mackenzie moved to the forested part of Malindi in 2019 after his church was closed over the pastor's preaching, which is said to have included asking children not to go to school. He was also previously arrested and released on bond over the disappearance of children, per AP.
