Death toll rises to 436 as more bodies exhumed in Shakahola forest

DCI officers discovered three graves in the same parts of the forest where 429 bodies linked to a deadly religious doctrine were exhumed in the previous four phases. 

While most victims of the Shakahola massacre died from starvation, some were strangled. 

Controversial priest Paul Mackenzie and his co-accused have been in custody since April last year, facing multiple charges including murder, manslaughter, and child torture.

Homicide detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations returned to Shakahola on Monday to commence the fifth phase of exhuming bodies of victims from the Shakahola mass murder.

On the first day of this phase, DCI officers recovered seven more bodies, pushing the death toll to 436. The bodies, believed to be followers of the deadly religious doctrine linked to controversial priest Paul Mackenzie of Good News International, were exhumed from three graveyards.

"One of the graves had four bodies... the other two graves had one each... any grave that we have suspected actually has graves," said Government pathologist, Johansen Oduor.

Homicide detectives are focusing on areas where 429 bodies had previously been exhumed from various mass graves.

"The other two graves had one each... we are targeting about 50 graves which we have identified and we are going to work on until we finish," Oduor added.

More than 400 bodies are preserved in a refrigerated container outside the Malindi Sub-County Hospital Mortuary. 

Among the suspects in the mass murder is controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie of the Good News International Church, along with his 94 co-accused. 

They have been in custody since their arrest in April last year, for accusations of inciting his followers to fast to death. 

The suspects also face charges of murder, manslaughter, radicalization, child torture, among several other offenses