Missing organs from Kenyan cult deaths – Police

An additional round of exhumations is scheduled to begin on Tuesday after autopsies on bodies discovered in mass graves connected to a religious cult in Kenya revealed missing organs and raised concerns about forced harvesting, according to investigators.

It has been dubbed the “Shakahola forest massacre” after mass graves were found last month close to the coastal town of Malindi on the Indian Ocean, shocking the deeply religious Christian majority nation.

The majority of the bodies, according to police, are thought to be those of followers of so-called pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, who is accused of ordering their starvation death “to meet Jesus.”

According to the chief government pathologist Johansen Oduor, although starvation appears to be the primary cause of death, some of the victims, including children, were strangled, beaten, or suffocated.

Some of the corpses had their organs removed, according to court documents filed on Monday. Police claim the suspects were involved in forced harvesting of body parts.

The bodies of some victims who had been exhumed had missing organs, according to post-mortem reports, chief inspector Martin Munene stated in an affidavit submitted to a Nairobi court.

Without elaborating, he said that it is “believed that trade on human body organs has been well coordinated involving several players.”

Munene claimed that prominent televangelist Ezekiel Odero, who was released on bail on Thursday after being detained in connection with the same case last month, had received “huge cash transactions,” allegedly from Mackenzie’s followers who had sold their property at the cult leader’s direction.

More than 20 bank accounts belonging to Odero must be frozen for 30 days, according to a Nairobi court’s order.

Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki announced on Tuesday that a total of 112 people had been identified as dead. Kindiki had traveled to Malindi to oversee the restart of exhumations, which had been put on hold last week due to bad weather.

“Search and rescue efforts for persons suspected to be holed up in the bushes and thickets have been going on,” Kindiki stated.

There have been concerns about how Mackenzie, who has a history of extremism and prior legal issues, was able to elude law enforcement.

The former taxi driver surrendered on April 14 after police entered Shakahola forest, where about 30 mass graves have now been discovered, acting on a tip-off.

The father of seven, who started the Good News International Church in 2003, is being detained by the prosecution for an additional 90 days while they finish their inquiries.

Yusuf Shikanda, a senior principal magistrate, promised to make a decision on the petition on Wednesday.