Shakahola Massacre: 112 people reported missing as probe into Kilifi cult intensifies

In a tweet early Monday, the Kenya Red Cross said it had set up tracing and counselling desks at the Malindi Sub-County Hospital for the Shakahola response.

At the tracing desk, 112 people had been reported missing, as the exercise to exhume more mass graves in what has now become known as the Shakahola massacre, entered its fourth day. 

Detectives conducting exhumations on Sunday, April 23, dug out 18 more bodies buried in shallow graves, to push the tally of bodies so far exhumed to 39. 

At the heart of the massacre is Pastor Paul Mackenzie, a controversial preacher who reportedly indoctrinated his followers, some of whom dropped out of school while others left their jobs to follow a religious mirage. 

Members of what is now being described as a religious cult were instructed to fast themselves to death with the promise of meeting Jesus.

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 traveled to Malindi to join the killer fast.

Detectives have yet to dig up more than 50 graves discovered on Sunday, even as the number of those who are still alive remains unknown.