Police exhuming suspected mass burial sites linked to Kilifi cult leader Paul Mackenzie in Shakahola village, Kilifi County have discovered five bodies believed to be from the same family. The bodies were found wrapped in one bed sheet and lying side by side in what has been described as yet another horrific scene.
The Good News International church leader’s run-ins with the authorities and local leaders started in 2018 when Malindi MP Aisha Jumwa protested against his actions. She claimed that the cult leader was bribing security agencies to prevent the closure of the church and his prosecution after being arrested three times and then released.
The preacher has since been charged with promoting radicalization and teaching children in an unregistered school at his church. In October 2018, angry residents in Magarini, Kilifi County demolished one of Mackenzie’s churches on claims of indoctrinating locals with false Christian teachings.
Since Friday, police have exhumed 21 bodies from seven gravesites, and more bodies are suspected to have been buried in shallow graves. The extent of the horror of the cult leader’s teachings and his followers’ actions is expected to rise, with fears that the cult leader’s teachings could have led to the death of over 100 people.
The team on the ground has complained of a lack of adequate manpower to conduct the exhumation exercise, and due to a shortage of staff, no forensic sampling has been done. The leader of the Kilifi cult, Mr Mackenzie, has staged a hunger strike since the homicide detectives launched a gravesite operation in Shakahola village.
