Shakahola: 26 more autopsies conducted, DNA test results delayed

Chief Government Pathologist Dr. Johansen Oduor on Tuesday conducted autopsies on 26 bodies recovered from Shakahola forest in Kilifi County.

The exercise, which marked the end of phase four of the post-mortems, determined that out of the victims, 14 were adults while 10 were children.

The genders of the remaining two bodies could not be identified owing to how decomposed they were.

The autopsies also revealed that eight of the victims were male while 14 were women. The genders of the other four victims could not be ascertained.

Two of the female victims, the autopsies revealed, were pregnant when they met their demise.

Eight of the victims died from starvation while the causes of death of the other 18 could not be determined due to decomposition.

Relatives of victims of the Shakahola fasting ritual linked will wait longer to get bodies of their kin for burial as Dr. Oduor said DNA results from the Government Chemists were yet to reach his team.

The suspected cult linked to controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie of Good News International Church has been connected to the deaths of more than 425 people so far, with over 600 people still reported missing.

Mackenzie who is currently in police custody is accused of brainwashing his followers to starve themselves to death in order to "meet Jesus."