Most of the victims of the fasting cult were children.

Kenya's Interior Minister Kindiki said 109 bodies linked to a fasting cult have been found, most of them children.

"Reports we have received indicate that most of the bodies are children, followed by women and then men," Kenyan Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki told reporters on April 28, announcing the search for bodies linked to the fasting cult in the Shakahola forest.

Mr. Kindiki added that through preliminary observations, Kenyan officials believe that many victims did not die of starvation, and that some people apparently used other extreme methods such as self-injury.

Workers transport the bodies of victims found in Shakahola Forest to a morgue in Malindi, Kenya, on April 27. Photo: Reuters

Kenya’s interior minister has called the perpetrators of the sectarian killings terrorists. He added that the Kenyan government will announce new measures to regulate religious groups from next week.

Paul Mackenzie Nthenge, who founded the International Evangelical Church in Kenya in 2003, was arrested by police in mid-month. He is accused of persuading followers to fast to death. Mackenzie and his legal team have not commented on the incident.

Ezekiel Odero, a preacher at a church near Shakahola Forest, was also arrested on April 27. Police documents show that several deaths were linked to Odero’s church between 2022 and 2023 and that the bodies may have been moved to Shakahola Forest.

Ngoc Anh (According to Reuters )

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