Police in Kenya have exhumed 47 bodies as they investigate a preacher said to have told followers to starve to death.
At least 58 shallow graves have been discovered in the Shakahola forest near the coastal town of Malindi after the arrest of “cult leader” Paul Makenzie Nthenge, state broadcaster KBC said.
A tipoff from members of the public led police to raid the pastor’s property, where they found 15 emaciated members of his Good News International Church, including four people who later died.
The followers alleged they were starving on the pastor’s instructions in order to “meet Jesus”.
Police had been told there were dozens of shallow graves spread across Mr Nthenge’s farm and digging started on Friday.
One of the graves is believed to contain the bodies of five members of the same family - three children and their parents.
Kenyan interior minister, Kithure Kindiki, said all 800 acres of the forest had been sealed off and declared a crime scene.
Pathologists will take DNA samples and conduct tests on bodies to determine whether the victims died of starvation.
Mr Nthenge, who is being held in custody, has been arrested twice before, in 2019 and in March of this year, in relation to the deaths of children.
Each time, he was released on bond, and both cases are still proceeding through the courts.
Local politicians have urged the courts not to release him this time, decrying the spread of cults in the Malindi area.
Mr Nthenge has denied wrongdoing. He insists that he shut down his church in 2019.
