Malindi cult: 14 more bodies discovered from 7 shallow graves as probe enters day three

Homicide detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have exhumed 14 more bodies from 7 shallow graves in Shakahola Forest in Malindi, Kilifi County.

This brings the total number of bodies exhumed in two days to 21 from a total of 65 graves.

Five bodies believed to be of one family were found piled in one grave, with three bodies also believed to be from another similar family found in another shallow grave.

This raised concerns about exactly how many followers of the Good News International Church may have perished while engaged in fasting which was meant to earn them a ticket to heaven as propagated by their controversial pastor Paul Mackenzie.

Saturday marked day three of the operation, and despite the murky terrain and the bad weather, the DCI forensic experts and crime scene analysts pitched camp on site.

They kept digging the shallow graves to unearth the horrors that lay beneath the surface in a case that has claimed dozens of pastor Mackenzie’s followers.

In the afternoon, the officers moved a different site where 26 graves were identified on Friday and exhumed 4 more bodies out of three graves, bringing the total number of bodies exhumed on Saturday to 14.

The controversial pastor remains in police custody for advancing a cult-like doctrine of starving to death in belief that they will ascend to heaven and meet their creator.

It is believed that hundreds of followers of the controversial pastor drawn from different parts of the country had abandoned their homes with some selling their property before they travelled to Malindi to partake of the killer fast.

A total of 65 graves have been discovered since the homicide detectives launched their rescue operation at the forest on Thursday, with a total of 29 confirmed deaths. 

The death toll is expected to surge as the operation continues and more graves are discovered.