One hundred and nine followers of the Good News International
Church, based in the Shakahola Forest in east Kenya, are known to
have died.
Authorities have recovered 101 bodies from shallow graves since
April 21, while eight cult members were found alive but died later.
So far, 44 people have been rescued.
The deaths amount to one of the worst cult-related tragedies in
recent history and the toll is expected to rise further, with the
Kenyan Red Cross saying more than 300 people have been reported
missing.
Cult leader Paul Mackenzie has been in police custody since April
14, held alongside 14 other cult members. Kenyan media have reported
that he is refusing food and water.
Mackenzie has made no public comment. Reuters spoke to two lawyers
acting for Mackenzie but both declined to comment on the accusations
against him.
Children account for most of the bodies recovered so far, Interior
Minister Kithure Kindiki said on Friday.
Chief Government Pathologist Johansen Oduor will lead the postmortem
examinations.
"We are going to be doing the autopsies in teams," he told a news
conference.
Kindiki said the autopsies will look at all possibilities, including
whether or not some bodies had missing organs.
Oduor said the government was collecting DNA samples from those who
had reported missing relatives and would do the matching in a
process that would take at least a month.
On Sunday, President William Ruto said he would appoint a judicial
commission of inquiry this week to probe what happened in Shakahola.
(Reporting by George Obulutsa,; Editing by Sofia Christensen and
Angus MacSwan)
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