5 bodies exhumed in suspected cult deaths in Kenya

​​​​​​​NAIROBI, Kenya

Forensic investigators in Kenya exhumed five bodies from suspected mass graves on Thursday, signaling a new phase reminiscent of the 2023 Shakahola cult massacre.

Kenya's Homicide Director Martin Nyuguto, who was at the scene in Kwa Binzaro village in Kilifi County, confirmed that the identities of the victims were not yet known.

Government Pathologist Richard Njoroge confirmed the number and cautioned that the operation, already yielding “five bodies out of six exhumed graves,” was just the beginning.

Njoroge said investigators found scattered remains of body parts on the surface in the area.

“We had 27 suspected graves at the commencement, so today we managed to exhume six. Out of the six, we found five bodies, and also around that area we found 10 different body parts scattered in different places on the surface,” said Njoroge, noting that 21 more graves remained to be excavated.

Authorities appealed to relatives with missing loved ones to visit the Red Cross desk at the Malindi District Hospital, where personal details and DNA will be collected for possible identification in the new suspected cases.

Kilifi is 426 kilometers (265 miles) southeast of Nairobi.

The exhumations mirror patterns in 2023 when more than 400 bodies were uncovered in the Shakahola Forest, linked to the Good News International Church, led by Pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie.

Investigators determined that scores of followers, many of them children, had died of starvation, suffocation, strangulation and blunt-force injuries after being told their fasting deaths would bring them closer to heaven.