Three shallow graves found in Kilifi's Kwa Binzaro village as fears of cult killings resurface

At least three shallow graves containing fresh human bones and skulls have been found in Kwa Binzaro village, Kilifi County, sparking fears of a resurgence in cult-related killings.

According to the county’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the victims may have died from starvation and suffocation linked to cult practices that have plagued the area in recent years.

The grim discovery followed an August 10, 2025, operation involving the DCI Homicide Unit, Malindi DCI, and Langobaya Police Station officers, who recovered human remains from separate sites within Binzaro, Chakama Location, about 50 kilometres southeast of Langobaya Police Station.

A police report from Langobaya indicated that the recovered remains included a skull, a jawbone, bones from other locations, and three suspected graves.

“The scene was documented by the CSI Team from Malindi. More progress reports will follow,” the report stated, adding that both DCI Malindi and the DCI Headquarters Homicide team are leading the investigations.

Suspicious deaths

Last month, authorities rescued four people and began investigations into the suspicious deaths of at least three others in what is believed to be another case of religious radicalisation in Binzaro village.

According to the Interior Ministry, two human skulls and the fresh body of an unidentified adult male were found in nearby bushland during an operation at a secluded five-acre homestead. The crackdown was prompted by a tip-off about suspicious religious activities.

“A 50-year-old man reported missing at Siaya Police Station on April 15, his 40-year-old wife, and two females aged 40 and 19, were rescued from the compound. Preliminary assessments indicate that the individuals may have been held under the influence of radical teachings,” the ministry’s statement on July 22 read.

A “prime suspect,” whose identity has not been disclosed, was arrested alongside three others described as managers of the compound.

Chakama partly borders the Shakahola Forest, where more than 450 bodies were exhumed from shallow graves in 2023 in what became known as the Shakahola massacre. Pastor Paul Mackenzie of the Good News International Church is accused of directing followers to starve themselves and their children to death in the belief it would lead them to heaven.

In the latest case, the rescued couple were reportedly among those saved during the 2023 Shakahola operation, but later went missing this year. According to the man’s brother, the pair fled their Siaya home in March with six children aged between one and 15 years before resurfacing in Kilifi.

Exhume suspected mass graves

A Malindi court has since authorised the DCI to exhume additional suspected mass graves in Binzaro village. The graves are believed to contain the bodies of six children feared dead and buried after their parents returned them to the banned sect.

The children—Flora (15), Mary (14), Christine (10), Shadrach (6), Esther (4), and Tonny (1)—were part of a family of eight relocated to Nyadorera in Siaya County. In March 2024, their father, Jairus, told relatives he had found work in Bondo but instead took his wife, Lilian Atieno, and the children back to Chakama Ranch.

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• Three shallow graves found in Kilifi's Kwa Binzaro village as fears of cult killings resurface
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Both parents were arrested, along with two others, after being rescued from the forest.

A close relative told Citizen TV that he spoke to the couple at the police station and was told the children had died.

“To tell the truth, the children are dead, because he confirmed it to me himself. When I found him at the police station, I was allowed to ask him. He told me the children died and were buried. His wife also told me the same,” the relative said.

He further claimed that Pastor Mackenzie continues to influence followers from prison using a mobile phone.

“This ideology is still going on, and Mackenzie being in prison doesn’t mean anything. He still has his followers outside. He is in prison but operates using a phone,” he said.

The relative added that Mackenzie had spiritually “prayed” for Jairus over the phone during a fasting period. Jairus later fled to seek help after cult members reportedly turned against him when he tried to leave the sect following the deaths of his children.

This latest discovery comes as more than 400 unclaimed bodies from the Shakahola tragedy remain at the Malindi Sub-County Hospital mortuary. With further remains expected from Binzaro, the already overwhelmed facility faces a growing crisis, raising urgent questions about the government’s capacity to tackle religious extremism and cultism at their roots.