Death Toll In Kenya Starvation Cult Rises To 179

Kenyan police reported Friday that 179 bodies of Christian sect members have been found in the Shakahola forest in southern Kenya.

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In the second phase of exhumations that began this week, 29 more bodies have been found in Shakahola forest in the coastal county of Kilifi, Kenya's coastal region police commissioner Rhoda Onyancha said.

According to authorities, 72 cult members have been rescued alive so far since exhumations began last month, while more than 600 remain missing. It is not clear that all the cases are related to the cult.

There is an ongoing investigation into the leader of the International Church of the Good News, Paul Mackenzie Nthenge. Police investigations indicate that leaders of the religious group urged adherents to starve themselves to death with the promise that they would meet Jesus Christ.

Mackenzie has been in custody since mid-April and could face terrorism charges. According to police, the number of people arrested for the death of worshipers at Mackenzie's church remains at 25.

Kenyan President William Ruto has appointed a commission of inquiry chaired by Justice Jessie Lesiit to investigate the events and determine any possible administrative or security negligence that may have occurred.

The government's chief pathologist, Johansen Oduor, has already examined 112 bodies. He has said that while starvation appears to be the main cause of death, some of the victims, including children, were strangled, bludgeoned, or suffocated.