Police have exhumed 20 more bodies at the 800-acre Shakahola land in Magarini, Kilifi County.
This brings the total number of bodies exhumed so far to 67.
The bodies were exhumed even as investigations into pastor Paul Mackenzie’s church-like cult intensifies.
On Sunday, one woman was rescued in one of the hideouts in a bad health state, witnesses and police said.
Of the bodies recovered on Sunday, three were in one grave, two in one and one in a single grave.
The grave diggers said they had also earmarked a grave with seven more people in the Sunday exercise.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki said he will visit Shakahola Village on Tuesday, April 25 even as he called on the Coast Regional Commissioner and security chiefs to reinforce the team currently carrying out exhumation at Nthenge’s land.
The CS called out the unfolding massacre of cult members as “the clearest abuse of the constitutionally enshrined human right to freedom of worship.”
He called for tighter regulation of religious entities including churches, mosques, temples, and synagogues across the country.
Police reported earlier on Saturday that Nthenge was on a hunger strike.
At the beginning of the exercise, the authorities had a total of 32 sites to dig up.
They had hoped to recover 32 bodies as per an informer who had tipped them off, police said. But they increased to 47.
Nthenge has been in the limelight for allegedly influencing his followers too fast to death.
In one of the graves that had been dug up, there were the bodies of five family members - a father, mother and their three children. Most of them are not from the area.
Nthenge appeared before Malindi Chief Magistrate Elizabeth Usui last Monday afternoon.
He was not required to plead to any charge, with the prosecution seeking 30 more days to hold him as they complete the probe.
He was arraigned alongside 13 other people in the case that will be mentioned on May 2.
The ruling was for the cult leader to remain in police custody for 14 days alongside six of his followers as police probe the issue.
The other seven, whom the prosecution described as victims as they had refused to eat even while in police custody, will be held for seven days for counselling, officials said.
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