Her account “Sakahola Massacre”, of the forest where the members of a Christian sect they fasted to deathreached 303 dead today, two months after this macabre case was revealed that shocked the Kenya.

“The death toll now stands at 303, after the exhumation of another 19 bodies”, the prefect of the region, Rhoda Onyantsa, told reporters. The toll is still provisional and authorities fear that the number of victims is much higher.

Investigations into the mass graves continue in the Sakahola forest, near the city of Malindi, where the first victims, mainly young children and women, were found on April 13. Some of the believers survived.

Research is now being done on an area of ​​150,000 acres. More than 600 people have been reported missing by their relatives.

Police believe most of the victims were members of the International Church of Joyful News, an evangelical sect founded in 2003 by self-proclaimed “Pastor” Paul Dhenge Mackenzie who urged believers to fast unto death “to meet Jesus.” The 50-year-old former taxi driver handed himself over to police on April 14 and is charged with “terrorism”.

From the autopsies that have been carried out so far, it appears that most of the victims died of starvation, apparently following the orders of the “pastor”. But some, including children, were strangled or beaten.

So far 35 people involved in the case have been arrested. Of the 95 survivors, 65 were taken to a Mombasa court today and are facing charges of “attempted suicide” for refusing to eat or drink anything. Prosecutors have asked that all of them be taken into custody so that they can undergo medical examinations and be force-fed.

The court’s decision is expected to be issued on Thursday.