Kenyan authorities confirmed in official statements that the police have exhumed 73 corpses so far in a forest in the east of the country, thought to belong to adherents of a Christian religious group who had starved themselves to death based on their belief that they would go to heaven.
The Kenyan Red Cross said that 112 bodies have been reported missing, confirming that death too could rise as more bodies are being recovered.
According to reports, adherents of the Good News International Church had lived in seclusion in settlements in the Shakahola Forest.
Local authorities stated that the cult’s leader, Paul Mackenzie, was arrested on Apr. 14th, following information that suggested existence of graves containing corpses of at least 31 of his followers.
Local Kenyan news outlets said that a court judge gave police two weeks’ time to conduct investigations, while Mackenzie was ordered to be kept in detention as he refused food and drink.
