Police in Kenya have exhumed 12 more bodies as part of an ongoing investigation into a so-called starvation cult, bringing the death toll to 372, Regional Police Commissioner Rhoda Onyancha announced Wednesday
The exhumation took place during the third day of the fourth phase of the operation.
Police said the recovery of the bodies marks another somber milestone in the investigation into the cult's activities, which have attracted significant attention in recent months.
“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,” local media quote Onyancha as saying.
Authorities say they have been working diligently to rescue individuals who were under the cult's control.
Onyancha revealed that since April, 95 people have been rescued from the grips of the cult, led by Pastor Paul Mackenzie.
Missing organs
These individuals, who endured a harrowing experience, are now receiving the necessary support and care to help them reintegrate into society.
It came a day after Kenya’s Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki said that law enforcement personnel who allowed the cult to operate will face the law. He said the authorities had unearthed 40 new mass graves.
Hundreds of corpses have been found in the Shakahola Forest in Kilifi County since mid-April during investigations into the cult run by Mackenzie, who leads the Good News International Church in Kenya.
He is accused of ordering his followers to starve themselves to death so they could go to heaven before the end of the world.
The investigations have revealed that some of the victims had their organs missing, which has led to suspicio ns of trafficking in human organs.
