Shakahola: Pathologists kick off post-mortem as death toll hits 98

The investigation into the unsettling cult in Shakahola, Kilifi County, whose members died from starvation, reached its seventh day, with government pathologists scheduled to commence post-mortem examinations on Thursday.

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 are still combing through the Shakahola forest 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.

Sources close to the investigation on Wednesday said those still missing were over 300, with a majority of the dead being children.

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.

Police have also since arrested fourteen members of the cult. 

Mackenzie was charged last month after two children died of starvation while in their parents' care and is still in police custody.