Mystery deepens as most Kwa Binzaro bodies show no clear cause of death

Details have emerged that the majority of the 34 bodies recovered from Kwa Binzaro show no clear signs of what caused their deaths, deepening the mystery surrounding the cult-linked tragedy in Kilifi County.

According to Government Pathologist Johansen Oduor, only two of the bodies examined so far have revealed a definite cause of death, while the rest were too decomposed to determine what killed the victims.

Oduor, who is leading the team of forensic experts conducting postmortems at the Malindi Sub-County Hospital mortuary, said that out of the 28 postmortems carried out, six involved children. He noted that most of the remains were reduced to skeletons, making it impossible for pathologists to identify their gender or establish how they died.

“Many of the bodies were reduced to skeletons, making it impossible for us to determine their gender or cause of death. We found that one person looked unwell, dehydrated and showed signs of pneumonia because the lungs were consolidated. There was a large haematoma on the right side of the head, and when we examined the brain, it showed global haemorrhage. This individual was murdered—killed by blunt trauma to the head," he said.

He added that another adult victim also died from head injuries, reinforcing suspicions that some of the deaths involved foul play. However, beyond these two cases, investigators have yet to establish what killed the rest of the victims, leaving families desperate for answers.

So far, more than 41 people have been reported missing, most of them from Western and Nyanza regions, nearly 1,000 kilometres from the Kwa Binzaro site. The government has launched a parallel effort to identify the victims through DNA analysis.

To support the process, a help desk has been established at the site, while the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has deployed officers to collect DNA samples, respond to queries and assist families unable to travel to Kilifi.

“We need to have them identified. We are calling upon families whose members are missing and who suspect involvement in the Kwa Bi Nzaro cases to come forward,” Oduor said.

The Kwa Binzaro deaths have drawn chilling comparisons to the 2023 Shakahola massacre, where 454 bodies were exhumed from the Good News International Church compound led by controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie, who is currently facing trial over the killings. Postmortem results from Shakahola revealed starvation, torture and brutal murders of followers who resisted indoctrination.

Investigators now believe that some suspects linked to Kwa Binzaro were previously associated with the Shakahola cult, with several either rescued or having escaped police during the 2023 raid. At Kwa Binzaro, detectives say children were forced to starve under the scorching sun as part of the cult’s deadly rituals.

According to investigators, the perpetrators in Kwa Binzaro were even more brutal than those in Shakahola. In a bid to conceal their crimes, they dumped bodies in thickets to be devoured by wild animals, while others were buried in shallow graves barely a foot deep, leaving remains exposed to scavengers.

The recovery of 102 bodies from the site has confirmed that many victims were abandoned in the thorny bushes. Unlike Shakahola, where victims were wrapped in sheets or nylon, those at Kwa Binzaro were stripped naked and dumped face-up in shallow graves.

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