Freshly buried body bearing signs of torture discovered in Shakahola

Interior CS Kithure Kindiki getting briefed by a forensic investigator about progress at Shakahola as Coast Regional Commissioner Rhoda Onyancha and DCI officers look on, August 2023. [Marion Kithi, Standard] Detectives and forensic experts investigating the Shakahola doomsday cult in Kilifi County Tuesday exhumed a body from a grave in the 50,000-acre Chakama ranch. The body was buried in one of the dam trenches in the Kwa Mugambi area, pushing the death toll to 428. The body was buried in wrappers, without a coffin and the hands were tied behind the back and had signs of torture. Chief Government Pathologist Dr Johansen Oduor, who was present during the exhumation, is expected to conduct an autopsy on the body to ascertain the cause of death. DCI officers scouting the area discovered a sunken shallow grave that had a crack on Monday, Detectives believe the body is of one of Pastor Paul Makenzi's bodyguards still living inside the Shakahola forest, where police rescued some devotees. The detectives noted the shallow grave was flung open due to the rains that recently pounded the area. Investigators and forensic teams are struggling to keep count of the bodies being recovered from beneath the forest floor. According to the Kenya Defence Forces soldiers who pitched camp inside the forest, more than ten torture chambers were found in the 800-acre Shakahola farm where Makenzi lived. However, The Standard could not independently verify the claim. The Director General of the Directorate of Criminal Investigation, Mr Amin Mohammed, held an intelligence briefing on Friday night in Malindi to assess the progress of the exercise, most likely to run against time as Makenzi was expected to be back in court mid-next month. According to Salama Masha, a mother who escaped the forest to save her children in March, Makenzi announced that he and his bodyguards would die last. In one of the sermons, Makenzi disclosed to his devotees that the last man to die would not be buried and would drop dead and probably be eaten by the vultures. ''The hour will come. The son of man will be betrayed into the hands of sinners. Until then, do not be shaken; every one of you should stay true to our course,'' the cult leader preached to his followers. When Makenzi appeared before the Shanzu Law Courts this month, he said the greatest sin he was committing on earth was to eat food. In a video seen by The Standard, Makenzi made the statement while seated in court with his co-accused persons. "Dhambi kubwa ninayoifanya duniani hivi leo mimi, ni kula. Lakini siku nitakapo okoka kutoka dhambi iyo ya kula, nitaishi na yesu milele." The Messianic cult leader Paul Makenzi's first sermons on fasting centred on the 19 Bible verses on children and the kingdom of God. The instructions, Salama said, featured a methodical plan for mass suicide through starvation. Some of the verses Makenzi preached from, according to Salama, were Matthew 18:3-4, Luke 10:21 and Numbers 14:31. For example, Luke 10:21 states: "At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, "I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight." Meanwhile, the Kenya Defence Forces soldiers are still camping inside the Shakahola forest to help with the search and rescue missions. Embalming of bodies is still ongoing at the Malindi sub-county morgue.

Freshly buried body bearing signs of torture discovered in Shakahola

Get Full Access for Ksh299/Week.

Stand With Bold Journalism.
Stand With The Standard.

Related Topics

Popular this week

Latest Stories

The Standard Insider

Digger Classified

GET OUR NEWSLETTER

CONNECT WITH US

FOR THE LATEST JOB ADVERTS

DIGGER JOBS

Digger Motors

Digger Real Estate

Freshly buried body bearing signs of torture discovered in Shakahola

Get Full Access for Ksh299/Week.

Stand With Bold Journalism. Stand With The Standard.

Related Topics

Trending Now

Popular this week

Latest Stories

The Standard Insider

Digger Classified

GET OUR NEWSLETTER

CONNECT WITH US

FOR THE LATEST JOB ADVERTS

Stand With Bold Journalism.
Stand With The Standard.