Africa

Autopsies Begin on Kenya Cult Members Who Starved Themselves to Death 

FILE - Workers receive the exhumed bodies of followers of a Christian cult who believed they would go to heaven, if they starved themselves to death in Shakahola, at the Malindi sub district hospital mortuary in Malindi, Kenya, Apr. 27, 2023.

Pathologists in Kenya began performing autopsies Monday on over 100 bodies of members of a religious cult who starved themselves to death under the belief that doing so would take them to heaven.

Officials found the bodies buried in shallow graves in Kenya’s Shakahola Forest.

A few people were found alive, but they died on the way to the hospital.

SEE ALSO: Kenya Records More Deaths From Cult-Related Starvations

Children account for most of the recovered bodies so far, authorities say.

The Christian-based cult was founded by Paul Mackenzie Nthenge, a former taxi driver. He is in police custody and is reported to be refusing food and water.

DNA samples will be extracted from the bodies to compare with relatives who have reported their loved ones missing.

Reuters reports that more than 300 people have been reported missing.