New autopsies have revealed cases of murder in the case of the 109 dead found in a forest in Kenya where the followers of an evangelical sect practicing extreme fasting, announced the person in charge of these operations.
About 30 bodies were autopsied on Tuesday, after a dozen the day before during the first day of forensic examinations carried out in this file which caused horror in this religious country of East Africa.
New causes of death
“
We found that most of them died of starvation because 20 of the autopsies we performed (Tuesday) had characteristics of people who died of starvation
,” the national head of forensic medicine services said on Tuesday evening. , Johansen Oduor.
Investigators suspect that many victims are followers of the International Church of Good News who followed the precepts of fasting until death to "
meet Jesus
" decreed by their pastor John Nthenge Mackenzie.
But like Monday, where two cases of children who died of asphyxiation had been noted, forensic scientists noted Tuesday deaths not caused by a lack of food.
"
A child had a head trauma
" resulting from a blow with a blunt object, said Johansen Oduor.
On another child, "
we could clearly see marks of someone being strangled and broken bones in his neck
" and "
we are certain he was strangled
", he added.
Read alsoKenya: what is the International Church of Good News, this sect advocating fasting until death?
Two adults also died of “
suffocation
” after having their noses and mouths visibly covered to prevent them from breathing, he continued.
Among the 40 bodies autopsied Monday and Tuesday are 16 adults, 18 children and six remains whose age doctors could not determine due to their advanced state of decomposition.
A total of 109 people, the majority of them children, have been discovered so far in the Shakahola forest, and the search for other mass graves continues.
On Tuesday, justice announced that it was going to prosecute 18 people for "
terrorism
", including Pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie who gathered his followers in this forest on the Kenyan coast.
Another pastor, Ezekiel Odero, one of the most influential in the country, is suspected of being involved in what is now called "
the Shakahola forest massacre
".
Arrested last week, he must appear Thursday before a court which will decide on possible prosecution.
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