KILIFI, Kenya — The Kenyan government has announced the rescue of four individuals and launched an investigation into the mysterious deaths of at least three others in what is suspected to be a case of religious radicalization in Binzaro village, Chakama, Kilifi County.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Interior Ministry confirmed that police are conducting an operation on a secluded five-acre homestead, initiated after a public tip-off about suspicious religious activities.
“A 50-year-old man who had been 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,” the ministry stated. It added, “Preliminary assessments indicate that the individuals may have been held under the influence of radical teachings.”
During the operation, two human skulls and the fresh body of an unidentified adult male were discovered in nearby thickets. A “prime suspect,” whose identity has not been disclosed, is currently in custody alongside three individuals described as managers of the compound.
The ministry’s statement further noted: “Additionally, three other persons have been detained in connection with the sale of the property to the suspect, amid unresolved questions surrounding the legality and transparency of the ownership and transaction processes.”
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Malindi has taken the rescued individuals into protective custody and is seeking court warrants to conduct a forensic search of the site.
This incident carries chilling echoes of the 2023 Shakahola massacre, where over 450 bodies were exhumed from shallow graves in the adjacent Shakahola forest, a case linked to a religious cult.
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Pastor Paul Mackenzie of the Good News International Church is currently accused of instructing his followers to starve themselves and their children to death with the promise of reaching heaven.
In the most recent case, it has been reported that the arrested man and his wife were among those rescued during the 2023 Shakahola operation but had subsequently disappeared again earlier this year.
The man’s brother informed Vivid Voice News that the couple had fled their Siaya home in March with six children, aged between 1 and 15 years, before resurfacing in Kilifi.
He stated that the family had been reintegrated into the community but mysteriously vanished months ago.
