360 still missing as probe into Kilifi cult continues

Over 360 people were still missing on Thursday as the investigation into the unsettling cult in Shakahola, Kilifi County, whose members died from starvation, reached its seventh day.

Hassan Musa, Kenya Red Cross’s Coast region manager told Citizen Digital that the missing people had been reported at the Public Information, Tracing and Support Centre by their family members.

“Of these, 198 are below 18 years old and a majority of the adults are women,” Musa added.

He said so far, four victims had been positively identified and reunited with their families.

As of Wednesday evening, ninety-eight people had been confirmed dead in the incident where Pastor Paul Mackenzie Nthenge of the Good News International Church is said to have instructed members to starve themselves in order to "meet Jesus".

Detectives and pathologists have been combing through the Shakahola Forest since Friday for more shallow graves and any of Nthenge's followers who might be hiding.

Meanwhile, people from across the country continue to hang around the area for any information on loved ones suspected to have been a part of the deadly cult.

Chakama Ranch where Shakahola Forest is located has since been cordoned off in the wake of the operation and a 30-day dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed.

The government on Wednesday also barred the media from accessing the area.