Autopsies in Kenya cult deaths indicate organ harvesting
Autopsies on corpses discovered in mass graves associated with a religious cult in Kenya have revealed missing organs, raising concerns about coerced harvesting.
The unearthing of mass graves in the vicinity of Malindi, a coastal town situated near the Indian Ocean, has caused a profound sense of shock within the predominantly Christian nation.
This event, which has been referred to as the “Shakahola forest massacre,” has elicited a strong reaction from the populace due to their deeply held religious beliefs.
According to law enforcement officials, a majority of the deceased individuals are believed to be adherents of the self-proclaimed spiritual leader Paul Nthenge Mackenzie.
Mackenzie stands accused of instructing his followers to abstain from food and perish in order to attain a divine encounter with Jesus.
The chief government pathologist, Dr. Johansen Oduor, has reported that although starvation seems to be the primary cause of death, a portion of the casualties, including minors, were subjected to strangulation, suffocation, or physical assault.
According to court documents filed on Monday, some of the corpses had their organs removed, with police accusing the accused of forced harvesting of body parts.
“Postmortem reports have established missing organs in some of the bodies of victims who have been exhumed,” the chief inspector Martin Munene said in an affidavit filed to a Nairobi court.
It is “believed that trade on human body organs has been well coordinated involving several players”, he said, giving no details about the suspected trafficking.