Eight bodies linked to Mackenzie’s Binzaro Forest starvation cult released for burial more than a year after recovery

Eight bodies linked to Mackenzie’s Binzaro Forest starvation cult released for burial more than a year after recovery

Eight bodies have been released for burial after DNA tests identified 14 victims, while six families are yet to collect their loved ones’ remains recovered from Binzaro Forest in Kilifi County.

Eight bodies linked to the alleged starvation cult associated with controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie have been released to families for burial, more than a year after the remains were recovered from Binzaro Forest in Kilifi County.

The release follows DNA tests that identified 14 bodies through matches with living biological relatives. However, only eight bodies have been collected, leaving six families yet to come forward for their loved ones’ remains.

The bodies had been held at the Malindi Sub-County Hospital mortuary as authorities worked to establish their identities. The county government had previously indicated that unclaimed remains could be buried if families failed to collect them.

Government pathologist Richard Njoroge said a multi-agency team had begun releasing bodies and body parts identified through DNA analysis.

“We have matched 14 bodies to their living biological relatives, and we have released them to the families for dignified burial,” he said.

The eight bodies collected include four belonging to relatives of two families from Migori County, two from a family in Homa Bay County and another two from a family in Busia County.

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For one family in Migori, the DNA results confirmed the deaths of six relatives who had been missing, including a brother, his wife and their four children.

Titus Omondi said his younger brother, Charles Seth Okinyi Olum, had travelled with his wife, Emily Adoyo Okinyi, and their children. The family initially believed they were in Russia seeking better opportunities.

Omondi said they only learnt of the deaths after being informed that the remains had been recovered from Binzaro Forest. They later provided DNA samples, which matched the recovered remains.

“My younger brother Charles Seth Okinyi Olum came with his wife Emily Adoyo Okinyi and their four children, and he was a prison officer, and we thought he was in Russia and was not dead,” he said.

“We gave out our DNA samples, and they have matched, and so we will give him a dignified send-off.”

Omondi called on the Government to take stern legal action against Mackenzie, who is accused of radicalising followers and encouraging them to fast to death.

The discoveries in Binzaro have renewed concerns over the number of people who may have died after allegedly following the preacher’s teachings, as investigators continue efforts to identify the recovered remains.

Njoroge said homicide detectives had recovered 53 bodies and 44 body parts from shallow graves in Binzaro village.

The deaths are suspected to be linked to the same controversial fasting cult associated with the Shakahola Forest tragedy.

Authorities are urging families with missing relatives to provide DNA samples to establish whether their loved ones are among the recovered remains.

Njoroge appealed to relatives to visit Malindi Sub-County Hospital or the nearest Kenya Red Cross office to submit samples for comparison with DNA profiles already generated from the recovered bodies and body parts.

The identification process aims to help more families establish the fate of their missing relatives and reclaim their remains for burial.