Kenyan police have recovered 58 bodies, mostly from mass graves in a forest in eastern Kenya, thought to be followers of a Christian cult who believed they would go to heaven if they starved themselves, the country’s police chief said on Monday. The death toll, which has repeatedly risen as exhumations have been carried out, could rise further. The Kenyan Red Cross said 112 people have been reported missing to a tracing and counselling desk it has set up at a local hospital. Followers of the self-proclaimed Good News International Church had been living in several secluded settlements in an 800-acre (324-hectare) area within the Shakahola Forest. Kenya’s police chief Japhet Koome, visiting the scene, said the deceased included 50 people found in mass graves as well as eight who were found alive and emaciated but later died. He added that 29 survivors had been rescued and police were still searching for potential others.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA