Kenya doomsday cult site exhumation paused to allow DNA sampling on 34 bodies

A piece of clothing lies in the bush near the forest where dozens of bodies were found in shallow graves in the village of Shakahola, near the coastal city of Malindi, in southern Kenya, on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

NAIROBI, Kenya — Exhumations at a site near where the bodies of more than 400 followers of a doomsday cult were found two years ago have been suspended so that DNA samples collected can be analyzed, authorities in Kenya said Wednesday.

The latest exhumations, which lasted two weeks, uncovered 34 more bodies and more than 100 body parts, and came during what police describe as the regrouping of former cult members.

Police Inspector General Douglas Kanja said a multi-agency team was working to uncover what led to the deaths.

“We have our best team working here, and very soon we will complete the investigation,” he told journalists.

Government pathologist Richard Njoroge said the postmortem examinations would begin once X-rays had been completed on the bodies.

Eleven suspects were arrested a month ago after a woman lodged a complaint with police over the deaths of her children. They will remain in custody for one more month as investigators probe the matter.

Police, in their court documents, said they were analyzing money transfers to the suspects’ phones from people they suspect were funding the operations.

The suspects had paid rent in houses in Malindi town before moving to the isolated Chakama Ranch in the Kwa Binzaro area within Kilifi County, where they set up the mud huts next to which the shallow graves were discovered.

This is the second time bodies have been exhumed within the expansive Chakama Ranch in Kilifi County, which has been linked to cult activities.

Pastor Paul Mackenzie, who was charged with murder after more than 400 bodies were exhumed near his Good News International Church in the Shakahola area, remains in custody. The area is about 2 kilometres (1.5 miles) from the new exhumation site.

Kilifi County is home to the extensive Chakama Ranch, where members of both cults lived in seclusion to avoid detection.

Being isolated and rural, police presence in the area is not as strong as in major towns, and law enforcement is compromised.

Police boss Kanja on Wednesday admitted that Chakama Ranch was “huge” and said it was only through many actors working together that surveillance could be strengthened.

“This is a very expansive and forested area, and for that reason, it needs all of us to come together so that we can overcome these challenges,” he said.

Kanja said most of those reported missing and likely dead were not locals. It is still unclear how many people have been reported missing.

Evelyne Musambi, The Associated Press