NAIROBI: Kenya’s state-funded human rights watchdog has accused government officials of disregarding credible reports that could have prevented the deaths of over 400 suspected members of a doomsday cult.
The harrowing discovery of human remains was made in April 2023 in Shakahola forest, a vast bushland located inland from the town of Malindi along the Indian Ocean.
Plans to release the exhumed bodies to their relatives for burial have been delayed due to a lack of necessary reagents and equipment needed for DNA profiling.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) criticized security officers in Malindi, labeling their actions as a “gross abdication of duty and negligence.”
According to KNCHR chairwoman Roseline Odede, the security officers failed to act proactively on intelligence reports that could have prevented the Shakahola massacre. Odede highlighted the unjustifiable inaction despite receiving credible and actionable reports.
The cult’s self-proclaimed leader, Pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, reportedly incited his followers to starve themselves to “meet Jesus.” Although starvation was identified as the primary cause of death, government-conducted autopsies revealed that some victims, including children, had also suffered from strangulation, beatings, or suffocation.
Between April and October of the preceding year, authorities exhumed a total of 429 bodies from shallow graves while rescuing 67 adults and 25 children, as per official records.
The KNCHR pointed out that warnings about Mackenzie’s radicalization and extreme preaching were raised during a court users’ meeting in November 2019 but were disregarded. Additionally, a former cult member who tried to raise alarms was dismissed and intimidated instead of being investigated.
The KNCHR expressed regret over the lack of sanctions against the negligent officials responsible for protecting the victims, including missing persons, deceased individuals, and deeply traumatized survivors. Mackenzie remains in custody since surrendering to the police in April, facing charges of murder, manslaughter, terrorism, and child abuse.
A Senate commission of inquiry’s report in October highlighted previous charges against Mackenzie in 2017 for his extreme preaching but noted that the criminal justice system failed to deter his heinous activities.
