KENYAN police have exhumed the highest number of bodies in a single day from a forest in Kilifi, Kenya’s coastal region, which is linked to a controversial doomsday cult.
Twenty-nine more bodies were exhumed on Friday.
So far, 179 people, believed to be members of the Good News International Church, are confirmed to have died either of starvation, strangulation or blunt force trauma.
The more forensic teams dig, the more bodies they find. One shallow grave had 12 bodies huddled together.
The Kenya Red Cross says 609 people who are reported to be members of the doomsday cult allegedly led by Paul Mackenzie are still missing.
Pastor Mackenzie said he closed down his church four years ago after nearly two decades of operation.
But the BBC has uncovered hundreds of his sermons still available online, some of which appear to have been recorded after this date.
In an interview with Kenya’s Daily Nation newspaper a few weeks ago, Pastor Mackenzie also denied he had forced his followers to fast.
The number of missing cult members has tripled since the extensive rescue and exhumation operation began in late April.
Kenya’s Attorney General has admitted that the state failed to protect the alleged victims.
The cult leader is still in police custody. He is yet to be charged.
