Kenyan Court Orders Exhumation in Malindi Over Suspected Cult Killings
Authorities suspect victims died from starvation and suffocation tied to extreme religious practices
- Court orders exhumation of suspected cult victims near Malindi
- Eleven suspects linked to starvation and suffocation deaths
- New case draws chilling parallels to 2023 Shakahola cult tragedy
A Kenyan court has approved the exhumation of several bodies in Kilifi County amid suspicions of another deadly cult-related incident near Malindi—an area already scarred by the 2023 Shakahola Forest tragedy.
According to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the graves—believed to contain victims of starvation and suffocation—are tied to extreme religious practices. Eleven suspects are currently under investigation for alleged involvement in what officials describe as a new wave of cult-linked killings.
Authorities suspect that the victims, potentially including missing children, were murdered under coercive spiritual doctrines. Investigators will carry out autopsies, DNA tests, and toxicology analyses as part of a broader probe.
This latest discovery echoes the Shakahola case in which self-proclaimed pastor Paul Mackenzie allegedly directed followers to fast to death in preparation for the apocalypse. Mackenzie, facing charges of murder and terrorism, is still on trial.
In a separate case this April, Kenyan police rescued 57 starving individuals and recovered two bodies from another church in western Kenya, raising further alarms over the spread of dangerous religious extremism.
