5 bodies are exhumed from shallow graves in Kenya near a doomsday cult site

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FILE - Police and local residents load the exhumed bodies of victims of a religious cult into the back of a truck in the village of Shakahola, near the coastal city of Malindi, in southern Kenya, Sunday, April 23, 2023. (AP Photo/File)

FILE - Former Kenya Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki, center, in a white shirt, inspects graves where victims of a Christian cult are buried in the Shakahola forest, near the tourist town of Malindi, Kenya, Tuesday, April 25, 2023. (AP Photo/File) — FILE - Police and local residents load the exhumed bodies of victims of a religious cult into the back of a truck in the village of Shakahola, near the coastal city of Malindi, in southern Kenya, Sunday, April 23, 2023. (AP Photo/File)

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6:41 AM on Friday, August 22

The Associated Press

KILIFI, Kenya (AP) — Five bodies were exhumed from shallow graves in coastal Kenya, at a site near where more than 400 bodies of followers of a doomsday cult were recovered two years ago.

Government pathologist Dr. Richard Njoroge on Thursday said 10 human body parts were also recovered, scattered in nearby thickets at Kwa Binzaro area in Kilifi County, about 2 kilometers (1.5 miles) from the site of the Shakahola cult, and that the exhumation would continue on Friday.

The exhumation exercise, led by homicide detectives, forensic experts, and pathologists, also uncovered 27 suspected mass graves, raising fears that more bodies could be buried in the area as investigations into the cause of death begin.

In 2023, more than 400 bodies were exhumed from shallow graves in the Shakahola area of Kilifi County, where pastor Paul Mackenzie instructed his followers to starve themselves to death in order to "meet Jesus." He was arrested and charged with murder, and is in custody awaiting trial.

Eleven people, believed to be former followers of Mackenzie, have been arrested in connection with the new discovery of bodies but have not yet been charged.

Religious organizations, including some mega-churches, have in the past been investigated in Kenya for suspected cult-like practices, such as barring followers from seeking medical treatment and pursuing education.