Twelve more graves were discovered in the intricate village of Sakahola, where hundreds of members of the new hunger cult were buried. With these dozen new deceased people, the victims add up to 372, although the Kenyan interior minister, Kithure Kindiki, assures that dozens of more graves have been located, which must be confirmed.
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Since the facts were connected, panic broke out in the towns near Sakahola. Many families have reported missing persons, saturating the emergency services of the national police. The number of confirmed complaints reaches 700.
The regional commissioner assured that “we have patrolled and helped the homicide detectives search the forest, and we have identified several graves. It must be borne in mind that it is a leafy forest, which makes the search for victims slow and difficult.” Many of the tombs are collective, which highlights the transcendental meaning these cult members attached to their deaths.
Although this was made known a few months ago, the exhumation process has slowed down as the rotting process of the bodies has been discovered. Due to the joint efforts of the government, the police, and the local residents, almost 100 people have been rescued, and nearly 40 have been arrested, accused of their involvement in the case.
The most tragic thing about this incident is that most of its victims were forced to stop eating or die to comply with ritual expectations.
Faced with this situation, a certain anti-religion has been unleashed in the country. This situation could threaten other organizations free of fanaticism and criminal behavior. Kindinki, in his statement, highlighted this aspect, informing us that the government is promoting reforms that discipline those he called "dishonest preachers".
The tragedy was uncovered in April. Today, cult leader Paul Makenzie is accused of having convinced at least 120 of his followers to starve to death. This pastor became a self-proclaimed evangelical pastor 20 years ago after 'hearing the call' from God to start his own church.
All this happened in the church that he presides over, known as the Good News International Ministries (GNIM.)
It was also discovered that the motivations of the organizers went beyond religious aspects. Economic and material benefits were also involved in this cult.
Thanks to human rights activists in the country, the case was discovered. They were the ones who led the authorities to the graves in the most inaccessible part of the forest. Some of them told the Kenyan media that the smell was unbearable. Moved by the strong smell, they got into the forest and discovered small mounds of fresh earth crowned by crucifixes.