Kenyan authorities have exhumed 32 bodies from shallow graves in the southeastern village of Kwa Binzaro over the past week, rekindling outrage two years after a doomsday cult in nearby Shakahola Forest was linked to hundreds of starvation deaths.
Government officials and local residents say the newly discovered graves appear tied to the same Christian sect blamed for the 2023 tragedy. Seven bodies were recovered on Thursday alone, bringing the total to 32 since exhumations began last week, government pathologist Richard Njoroge told reporters.
Search teams in white protective suits continued combing the forested area on Friday with shovels and hoes. Kwa Binzaro lies about 30 km (18 miles) from Shakahola, where prosecutors allege cult leader Paul Mackenzie ordered followers to starve themselves and their children to “reach heaven” before the world ended. Mackenzie, charged with murder and terrorism, has denied wrongdoing.
Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen has linked the Kwa Binzaro graves to Mackenzie’s movement, saying survivors rescued from the village reported that the self-styled pastor was “praying for them” from prison. After the Shakahola scandal, President William Ruto’s government pledged tighter oversight of religious organizations and stronger community surveillance.
Critics say those promises fell short. Writing in the Star newspaper on Thursday, rights activist Hussein Khalid called the latest deaths “a betrayal… of the most sacred duty of any state — to protect the lives of its citizens.”
Spokespeople for the presidency, national government and police did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Kilifi County commissioner said 11 suspects have been arrested.
Relatives of Shakahola victims now face another agonizing wait for DNA results. William Ponda Titus, from nearby Malindi, said eight family members joined the cult beginning in 2015. Four — including his mother and a brother — were found in Shakahola; four remain missing and are believed to have moved to Kwa Binzaro. “It has hurt me very much… it is only me and my father now,” he said.
His cousin, Michael Ruwa, urged swift action: “The matter is being taken very lightly. We ask the government to treat it seriously because it is people who have been lost in there. Not animals.”