ALBAWABA - At least 39 bodies have been discovered on a land owned by a pastor in coastal Kenya who used to preach his followers to fast to death to see Jesus Christ.
The pastor, Paul Makenzi Nthenge, was arrested on April 14 over links to cultism, the Associated Press reported, according to the New York Post.
Kenya pastor arrested after 39 bodies dug up in cult investigation https://t.co/fnxB7myXPL pic.twitter.com/LH3A4PRh3i
— New York Post (@nypost) April 24, 2023
Malindi sub-county police chief John Kemboi said that more shallow graves have yet to be dug up on the pastor's land.
47 dead bodies have been discovered in shallow graves by the Police in Malindi, Kenya, after Pastor Paul Mackenzie Nthenge told his members to starve themselves to death to see Jesus."
15 other members were rescued by Police officers in the forest last week. pic.twitter.com/K2q9jJlzIY— Africa Facts Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) April 23, 2023
The unearthed corpses bring the total death toll so far to 47, according to France 24.
Police have asked a court to allow them to hold the pastor longer as a probe into the deaths of his adherents continue.
A tipoff from members of the public led police to raid the pastor’s property in Malindi, where they found 15 emaciated people, including the four who later died.
Malindi town on Malindi Bay at the mouth of the Sabaki River, lying on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It is 120 kilometers northeast of Mombasa.
