Kenya's Ruto vows action after 58 bodies linked to cult found

Kenyan President William Ruto on April 24 vowed to crack down on “unacceptable” religious movements as police discovered more fatalities in a Christian cult that practised starvation, bringing the toll to 58.

Kenyan President William Ruto on April 24 vowed to crack down on "unacceptable" religious movements as police discovered more fatalities in a Christian cult that practised starvation, bringing the toll to 58.

A major search is underway in a forest near the coastal town of Malindi where dozens of corpses were exhumed over the weekend, with authorities fearing more grisly discoveries could be made.

A full-scale investigation has been launched into the Good News International Church and its leader, named in court documents as Paul Mackenzie Nthenge, who preached that death by starvation delivered followers to God.

The police had previously named the suspect as Makenzie Nthenge.

It is believed some of his devotees could still be hiding in the bush around Shakahola, which was raided by police earlier this month after a tip-off from a local non-profit.

Since then, a number of people have been rescued and dozens of bodies unearthed in mass graves dug in shallow pits.

"58 people (have been) confirmed dead and this is out of bodies exhumed and those who died on the way to the hospital," said police chief Japhet Koome who visited the site on April 24.