By Oyintari Ben
In the Kenyan town of Malindi, dozens of people gathered at a mortuary on Wednesday to inquire about relatives they believe may be among the 89 or so members of a cult who are said to have starved themselves to death in order to enter paradise.
Since officials began recovering human remains from shallow graves found in an 800-acre section of the Shakahola forest, where the self-described Good News International Church was situated, on Friday, the mortuary has been swiftly filling up.
More than 300 persons have already been reported missing to the Kenyan Red Cross’s tracing and counselling centre, the fatalities rank among the biggest cult-related catastrophes in recent memory, and the death toll is anticipated to keep growing.
“My heart is aching so much,” said Mwachai Jombo, 48, a native of Malindi on Kenya’s coast who came to the mortuary in search of his missing wife, son and two daughters.
He claimed that his wife had joined the cult three years prior and relocated to the forest with all of the family’s possessions and three of the kids. He recalled sending her 7,000 shillings ($50) for their maintenance, but she had donated the majority of it to the cult.
Jombo had also been to the Malindi hospital, where the survivors were being treated, and he had been informed by one of them that his children were still alive. He desperately needed news because he had no confirmation of his family members’ whereabouts.
“It would be better if the government could stop exhuming first to help us rescue these kids,” he said.
Naomi Kahindi, one of the grieving family members present at the mortuary, claimed that the police had informed her that her 45-year-old sister, as well as her sister’s five children and one of her grandkids, were among the deceased.
Red Cross officials in Malindi told Reporters that exhumations had been put on hold on Wednesday so that investigators could concentrate on finding survivors dispersed in impromptu camps strewn throughout the jungle.
On Wednesday morning, they reported that two malnourished women were discovered alive and were being sent to the hospital in Malindi.
According to Kenyan newspapers published on Wednesday, the cult members had dubbed some of their woodland towns Jerusalem, Jericho, Bethlehem, Nazareth, and Judea.
Eight persons were discovered alive but later died, according to the authorities, who have reported that 81 dead were found in mass graves. With the two women’s rescue on Wednesday, there are now 36 survivors.
Paul Mackenzie, the cult’s leader, turned himself in to authorities on April 14. He is reportedly being kept in custody with 14 other cult members.
According to Kenyan media, Mackenzie is denying himself food and water
