Kenya ‘cult’ investigation widens as death toll reaches 90

Interior minister says deaths in Malindi could be ‘tip of the iceberg’ as police exhume 17 more bodies

The death toll at a ranch in Kenya owned by a pastor who is accused of leading a religious cult and ordering his followers to starve themselves in order to “meet Jesus” has reached 90, as the country’s interior minister announced an expanded operation at the site.

The new figure came after police exhumed 17 more bodies. The total number of those rescued while starving at the ranch now stands at 34. The Kenya Red Cross Society’s latest figure on the number of missing is 213.