Investigations into the Kwa Bi Nzaro cult in Kilifi County are revealing how indoctrination is leaving behind a trail of empty homes, broken bloodlines and missing family members, echoing the horror of Shakahola , where hundreds perished, many being family members.
Detectives say that among those reported missing and suspected to have joined the cult are entire families, with parents disappearing alongside their children.
By last Tuesday, 41 people had been reported missing at a centre set up at Malindi Sub-county Hospital. Most of them were from the Western and Nyanza regions, nearly 1,000 kilometres away.
“When you examine the details of these cases, they are deeply disturbing, not just because of where these people came from, but the number of individuals each family has lost,” said an investigator, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
A cordoned off area at Kwa Bi Nzaro where shallow graves were discovered.
Photo credit: Billy Ogada | Nation Media Group
Kilifi County, home to Chakama Ranch, infamous for cult activity, recorded 11 missing persons. This sprawling 50,000-acre land houses both Kwa Bi Nzaro and Shakahola villages, the sites of Kenya’s worst modern-day cult tragedies.
In Migori, nine members of a single family are missing. Homa Bay recorded three missing from one household. Siaya reported six individuals from four families, while in Kisii, a family lost one member.
One such family is that of Mr Jairus Otieno and his wife, Lilian Akinyi, from Siaya, who left home with their six children: Tony (1), Esther (4), Shadrack (6), Christine (10), Mary (14), and Sarah (15).
Both parents are among four individuals now under the protection of the Witness Protection Agency, after the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions declared them crucial in revealing the full scope of atrocities committed by the prime suspect behind the Kwa Bi Nzaro deaths.
Another family affected is that of Ms Caroline Adhiambo, widow of Kwa Bi Nzaro victim Samuel Owuoyo.
She left Busia with her sons Daniel (13) and Elijah (9). All six children from her and the Otieno family remain missing.
Sources within the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) reveal that several key suspects linked to the Shakahola cult had previously operated in parts of Western Kenya.
A shallow grave at Kwa Bi Nzaro in Kilifi County on August 30, 2025.
Photo credit: Billy Ogada | Nation Media Group
This has prompted authorities to expand their probe into Busia and Bungoma counties, where remnants of the original group may have sparked the resurgence now known as Kwa Bi Nzaro.
Notably, Ms Anido, the key suspect at the centre of the Kwa Bi Nzaro cult, is a native of Vihiga County. Police say she and several others had been rescued from Shakahola in 2023.
“We want to understand why these individuals have failed to reintegrate into society, so we can develop a programme for de-radicalisation and help prisons manage them appropriately,” a senior officer stated.
Court documents reveal that apart from Ms Anido, he co-suspects Kahindi Kazungu Garama, Thomas Mukonwe, and James Kazungu had lived in Shakahola with their families before escaping and later regrouping at Kwa Bi Nzaro.
Residential houses at Kaoyeni Village in Malindi, Kilifi County, where the Kwa Bi Nzaro prime suspect Sharlyne Anindo Temba (inset) lived.
Photo credit: Kevin Odit | Nation Media Group
Garama’s five children have been placed in a children's home in Kilifi County. Mukonwe’s wife and three children are missing and presumed dead.
Kazungu’s wife, Dhahabu Kabwere Chea, is currently facing 238 manslaughter charges alongside Mackenzie in Mombasa, and their five children are also missing. Ms Anido’s husband is believed to have died during extreme fasting rituals.
Detectives are seeking an additional 60 days to continue holding the four suspects at various police stations including Ngerenya, Kilifi, Watamu and Kijipwa. Police say the requested custody extension will allow time for DNA analysis of the exhumed remains.
So far, 34 bodies and 102 body parts have been recovered, with search efforts ongoing across 400 acres of dense shrubland suspected to conceal more graves. While post-mortems and DNA tests are underway, the government is still struggling to identify and release more than 400 Shakahola victims.
As of now, 419 bodies remain unclaimed in makeshift morgues at Malindi Sub-county Hospital. Only 72 have been positively identified since the 2023 massacre, with just 34 released for burial. Some 37 bodies are ready for release but remain unclaimed.
Kwa Bi Nzaro cult prime suspect Sharlyne Anindo Temba at the Malindi Law Courts in Kilifi County on September 12, 2025.
Photo credit: Kevin Odit | Nation Media Group
Delays in funding and procurement have hindered DNA matching efforts alongside lack of DNA reference samples for matching with the dead bodies. Also, it was disclosed in court that about 120 bodies from Shakahola were too decomposed to yield viable DNA profiles and may never be identified.
The families of the Shakahola victims, still traumatised two years later, are calling on the government to expedite the process and bring closure. Some are now worried that their missing kin may have been among those who disappeared into Kwa Bi Nzaro after police shut down Shakahola.
Constance Sidi Mwakalama, speaking from her home in Furunzi, Malindi, said she is still searching for her six grandchildren, two boys and four girls, who went to Shakahola with their parents and have not been seen since.
“It has been two years of anguish. The children’s mother and grandmother gave DNA samples, but we have heard nothing from the government,” she said tearfully.
Ms Sidi is the mother of Smart Deri Mwakalama, a key figure in the Shakahola cult, described in court as his right-hand man. Smart is facing murder and manslaughter charges alongside Paul Mackenzie and 93 others.
Ms Sidi says she hopes the government will accelerate the scientific process and allow families to finally lay their loved ones to rest.
“I do not know whether my grandchildren are dead or alive. I will not find peace until I know. At least I know that Smart and his wife are alive and in custody,” she said. Smart is her sixth-born child.
Morticians carry the remains of a person exhumed at Kwa Bi Nzaro village within the vast Chakama Ranch in Kilifi County on August 28, 2025 as part of investigations into a suspected cult.
Photo credit: Brian Charo | Nation Media Group
“My mother left in 2020. She is among those whose bodies were exhumed,” he said during a recent memorial service in Malindi.
Michael Rua lost eight relatives to the cult and now fears some of the newly exhumed bodies at Kwa Bi Nzaro may belong to them.
“I lost my aunt, two cousins, their wives and children. Four have been identified, but the rest are missing. The trauma has been unbearable,” he said.
“If this madness continued into Kwa Bi Nzaro, it is likely that our loved ones will be among those found there. We could have begun healing if we had buried all of them,” he said.
Still, Rua said his family remains vigilant and hopeful.
A similar story comes from Mr Suleiman Nyanje Zero, who lost his wife and five children. What was once a family of eight has been reduced to two. His eldest son escaped Shakahola when life became unbearable in the forest.
“I almost lost everyone,” he says. His wife, Mbeyu Chombo, was 42. Their children were aged 22, 20, 18, 12 and one and a half. None of them have been buried, and their whereabouts remain unknown.
Gerishon Musau, who lost his daughter Ruth Minoo, submitted a DNA sample in May 2023 and is still waiting.
“I just want to know where she is. If she is dead, let us bury her. We urge the government to act swiftly,” he said.
In court, victims have testified that repeated inquiries about missing relatives have gone unanswered, with officials citing a lack of materials for DNA testing.
Jimmy Mganga is searching for his father, Moses Kahindi, his mother, Joyce Kachi, and three siblings. All are still missing.
Kwa Bi Nzaro prime suspect Sharlyne Anindo Temba (right) with her co-accused at the Malindi Law Courts in Kilifi County on September 12, 2025.
Photo credit: Kevin Odit | Nation Media Group
“To date, I have not received any results. Whenever I ask, they tell me there are no reagents to complete the process,” he testified in court.
Last Friday, a Malindi court released three of the initial eleven suspects linked to the Kwa Bi Nzaro cult. The three, Safari Kenga Nzai, Karisa Gona Fondo, and Charo Gona Kalama, were released on free bond.
They are required to report twice a week to the Makongeni assistant chief, as well as biweekly to investigators and are barred from contacting witnesses or interfering with evidence.
They were engaged in a land transaction where self-styled priestess Sharleen Temba Anido purchased the five acre land and set up fasting bays. Graves were also found around this homestead located less than 500 meters from a dusty road leading to the village.
Investigators say the four suspects remaining in custody played a key role in reviving radical teachings after fleeing Shakahola. According to the State, these suspects not only radicalised followers but also orchestrated mass deaths, which they referred to as a "holy safari to see Jesus".
The list of offences under investigation includes radicalisation under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, facilitation of terrorism, organised criminal activity under the Prevention of Organised Crimes Act, and murder under the Penal Code.
