A police officer at Chakama Ranch in Kilifi County during a raid on April 17, 2023.
On April 15, 2025, at precisely 1.23 pm, Mr James Oduor walked into Siaya Police Station to report his brother, Jairus Otieno, as missing.
According to the entry in the station’s Occurrence Book, Mr Otieno was last seen on March 31.
He had left home accompanied by his wife, Lilian Atieno and their six children.
Since their disappearance, the family and friends had been involved in an increasingly desperate search. Many feared that the family's sudden vanishing was connected to a religious group operating along Kenya’s coast.
Those fears were confirmed on Saturday evening when authorities located Mr Otieno and his wife in Binzaro village, Kilifi County, among a group believed to be followers of a religious cult known for its doctrine of extreme fasting.
Mr Otieno, aged 50, and his 40-year-old wife were rescued alongside two other women aged 40 and 19.
Preliminary findings suggest that all four were influenced by radical religious teachings.
Unexplained deaths
The cult in question is already under investigation for multiple disappearances and unexplained deaths. It is believed to promote prolonged periods of starvation as a spiritual practice.
However, during the rescue operation, the couple’s six children were not found and their whereabouts remain unknown.
Police investigations are ongoing with both local and national authorities involved. Efforts by the Daily Nation to reach Mr Oduor via the contact number he left at the police station were unsuccessful as the line remained unreachable.
The investigation was launched after a body was discovered and four frail individuals were rescued from a homestead in Binzaro village in the expansive Chakama area on Saturday evening.
Binzaro is located about 26 kilometres from Shakahola village, where more than 400 bodies were exhumed in 2023 in connection with a cult allegedly led by preacher Paul Mackenzie.
According to villagers, the incident came to light when one man from the homestead went to a neighbouring village to borrow a phone and call relatives in Siaya County. His brother then alerted local authorities, prompting a security raid.
“There were about seven houses in the homestead. Those rescued had similar characteristics to the Shakahola followers. They were emaciated, weak and even refused to drink milk,” said a source involved in the rescue, who requested anonymity due to lack of authorisation to speak publicly.
The source added that the deceased appeared to have died recently, with blood oozing from his nose and mouth.
“Among those rescued was a woman and a girl who said they were from Furunzi in Malindi town, the same area where Pastor Mackenzie’s church was located before it was shut down by the government,” the source added.
Authorities confirmed that a team of security officers found a 50-year-old man, two women aged 40, and a 19-year-old woman at the scene.
On Sunday, Kilifi County Commissioner Josephat Biwott said preliminary investigations revealed that one of the rescued individuals had been reported missing in Siaya County. He also confirmed that two of the rescued individuals were non-locals.
“We received a report from members of the public about suspicious activities in a homestead in Binzaro belonging to a suspect who is still at large,” he said.
Mr Biwott added that a search of the five-acre homestead uncovered two human skulls outside the forested area. Detectives have since launched a manhunt for the homestead owner.
“The area has been secured. The four were taken to Malindi Sub-County Hospital for treatment, while the body was transferred to the hospital mortuary,” he stated.
The administrator said the rescued individuals were extremely weak and initially unwilling to provide any information.
Read: Forbidden from mourning, extreme fear and ‘system shutdowns’: Trauma of Shakahola child survivors
“Our priority was to rescue and treat them. Investigations will follow to determine what exactly was happening at the homestead,” Mr Biwott added.
This latest incident comes less than three months after another cult-related arrest in the Chakama area. In April, Kilifi authorities arrested preacher Abel Kahindi Gandi of the New Foundation Church in Chakama, Malindi sub-County and closed down his church.
That case involved reports of congregants dying during prayer sessions. Mr Gandi was accused of instructing the sick—said to be possessed by demons—to climb a “Tree of Life” within the church compound as part of a bizarre exorcism ritual. He also allegedly sold “living water” to his followers.
