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Shakahola cult: Police find suspected mastermind allied to Mackenzie
A man who identified himself as "Pastor Zablon Wa Yesu" (centre) is escorted by police in Shakahola, Kilifi County, on March 24, 2023.
Photo credit: Wachira Mwangi | Nation Media Group
What you need to know:
- Authorities confirmed finding seven bodies in one grave on Monday, the highest from one site since the operation to exhume bodies of victims began last week.
Police are holding a man suspected to be a co-mastermind, and one of the top leaders of the cult led by Paul Mackenzie that led to dozens of his followers starving themselves to death after they were told they would meet Jesus.
The man, who identified himself as Pastor Zablon wa Yesu, was found reading a Bible on the expansive 800-acre land owned by Mr Mackenzie, where police have since Friday, April 21, been exhuming bodies of victims. At the end of Monday, April 24, those exhumed numbered 65, with eight others who had been rescued dying in hospital.
