Eleven suspects are in custody following the exhumation of 34 bodies and recovery of 102 human remains from shallow graves in Kenya’s Kilifi County, police confirmed, in what authorities say is a return of cult-linked killings.

Police Chief Douglas Kanja, who toured the Kwa Binzaro site on Wednesday, said four of the suspects are considered prime targets of an investigation into the deaths.

He added that preliminary findings suggest many victims were not locals, complicating identification.

Kanja told reporters that “32 bodies have so far been exhumed, and two other bodies were also recovered here in this area, making a total of 34 bodies. 102 body parts have been recovered. We have sent our best team here of investigators, and very soon, we will come up with a complete investigation file.”

Painful memories

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, speaking elsewhere, urged Kenyans not to remain silent in the face of cult activity.

He warned that failing to report suspicious religious gatherings only emboldens extremist preachers and risks a repeat of past mass tragedies.

The new investigation has revived painful memories of the 2023 Shakahola massacre, also in Kilifi County, where more than 400 bodies were exhumed from shallow graves linked to a starvation cult led by controversial preacher Paul Nthenge Mackenzie.

Many of the victims, including children, were found to have died from deliberate starvation, suffocation or beatings, making it one of the deadliest cult-related atrocities in Africa’s recent history.

Kilifi lies about 426 kilometers (265 miles) southeast of Nairobi along Kenya’s Indian Ocean coastline.