Autopsies begin on bodies of Kenyan cult members who starved themselves to death

On Monday, pathologists began examinations on more than 100 dead from a Kenyan religious cult whose leader allegedly ordered them to starve to death to be the first in heaven.

In east Kenya’s Shakahola Forest, 109 Good News International Church members died.

Since April 21, authorities have found 101 bodies in shallow graves and eight cult members who later died. Rescued 44 individuals.

One of the greatest cult-related disasters in recent history, the Kenyan Red Cross reports more than 300 missing.

Since April 14, police have held cult leader Paul Mackenzie and 14 others. Kenyan media say he’s rejecting food and drink.

Mackenzie is silent. Two Mackenzie lawyers declined to comment on the charges.

On Friday, Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki said majority of the bodies collected were children.

Chief Government Pathologist Johansen Oduor will conduct the postmortems.

“We’ll do the autopsies in teams,” he told a news conference.

Kindiki said the autopsies will examine all possibilities, including organ loss.

Oduor said the government was gathering DNA samples from missing relatives and matching them in a month-long procedure.

President William Ruto announced Sunday that he would create a judicial committee of inquiry this week to investigate Shakahola.