More Than 400 Found Dead from Kenya Doomsday Cult

Authorities in Kenya exhumed 12 bodies Monday, bringing the total number of deaths linked to a doomsday cult to over 400, the Associated Press reported. 

Pastor Paul Mackenzie, who allegedly ordered his followers of the Good News International Church to fast to death in order to meet Jesus, is currently in police custody along with 36 other suspects, per the outlet.  In March, Mackenzie denied ordering his followers to starve during an interview with Kenyan outlet Nation, multiple outlets reported. None of the suspects currently in custody have been charged, though relatives of those who have died have been speaking out.

"He [Mackenzie] told them to starve themselves ahead of the world’s end on April 15, saying he would be that last one and that he would lock the doors," said Stephen Mwiti, whose wife and six children joined the cult and are possibly among those who died, told Reuters in May.

The cult is reportedly based in a forested part of Malindi, Kenya, per a report on the new death toll from NBC News on Wednesday. Although Mackenzie claimed he had closed the church four years ago, according to the BBC.

Coast Regional Commissioner Rhoda Onyancha said on Monday that the death toll currently stands at 403, with 253 of those having undergone DNA matching, per The Independent. 95 people have so far been rescued, though 613 people have been reported missing to the Kenyan Red Cross. Authorities are continuing to discover mass graves,

Mackenzie has been in police custody since April 14 and has refused food and water, per Reuters. In June, Kenyan media outlet Anadolu Ajansı reported that another suspect and member of the cult, Joseph Juma Buyuka — who they described as Mackenzie's number two — had died in police custody following a hunger strike.

The outlet noted that 30 other suspects had also been on hunger strike while in custody. The majority of those on hunger strike resumed eating after prosecutors took them to court for trying to end their lives, AP reported.

Former members of the church alleged that Mackenzie compelled congregants to fast as part of the church’s teachings, according to a BBC News report from May. Mackenzie’s sermons, which the BBC noted were still available online after the date the pastor said he had closed the church, dealt with apocalyptic themes. A banner on the church's site read: "We are about to win the battle… let no-one turn back… the journey is about to be accomplished.”

The BBC added that there was no direct evidence, in the videos it had reviewed, of Mackenzie extolling his congregants to fast. However, they noted references in the footage to followers making sacrifices, which included the sacrifice of their lives.

Mackenzie was previously arrested over the disappearance of children, per AP. However, he was then released on bond.

In May, Kenyan President William Ruto told the country’s media that the government acknowledged its failure in preventing the deaths of the church members, according to Voice of America. 

"I am taking responsibility that as president, this should not have happened. And certainly, some people who are responsible for this failure on the part of the government will have to give an account, because it should not have happened when we have all the agencies," Ruto said at the time.

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He added: "The promise I am giving to the people of Kenya is that we will get to the bottom of this matter, and I am also giving them my commitment.”

PEOPLE reached out to the government of Kenya for additional comment.