Five more bodies were spotted today in the Sakahola forest of eastern Kenya, raising to 95 the victims of a self-proclaimed “pastor” who urged members of his cult to fast unto death in order to go to heaven.

The exhumations were halted on Tuesday night to allow coroners time to perform post-mortem examinations on the bodies and to decongest the Malindi city mortuary. The search resumed this morning.

Prefect Rhoda Onyantsa confirmed that five new bodies were found and “the total number of people who lost their lives is 95”.

39 “faithful” were found alive in this forest while another 22 have already been sent to prison. Paul Mackenzie Dhenge, the head of the International Church of Joyful News, is being held after he handed himself over to police on April 14, when investigations began.

The revelation of the “Sakahola Forest Massacre”, as the local media is calling it, caused consternation in Kenya. Many are calling for action to crack down on sectarianism in the Christian-majority country.

The relatives are waiting for an explanation

Relatives of sect members flock to the Malindi mortuary every day to learn the fate of their own people. Among them, teenager Isa Ali demands to know if his mother is among the victims. The woman had embraced the sect and took him with her to Sakahola in 2020, from where his father took him out last year. “The last time I saw her was in February. She was so weak,” the 16-year-old explained.

Hassan Musa, a Kenyan Red Cross official, told AFP that 311 “disappearances” of sect members had been reported. Of those missing, 150 are minors.

“These are people who come mainly from Kenya, but there are also some from Tanzania and Nigeria. Some have been missing for years,” he said.

The end of the world

Every day, the local authorities complete the puzzle of this unprecedented “massacre” in which Mackenzie led the faithful. According to Hussain Khalid, the director of the non-governmental organization Haki Africa, the man who alerted the police to the “pastor’s” action, Mackenzie intended to lead to death first the children, then the women and finally the men of the sect of. And all this had to be done before “the end of the world,” which he predicted would come in June.

Khalid said 50-60% of the victims found so far are children.

“We don’t know how many mass graves, how many bodies, we will still find”Home Affairs Minister Kiture Kidiki commented, stressing that the crimes are so serious that they warrant the prosecution of Paul Mackenzie for the offense of terrorism.