Murkomen calls for public vigilance as new cult graves unearthed in Kilifi

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has called on Kenyans to play a more active role in protecting communities from dangerous religious cults, warning that silence and neglect have given room for such groups to thrive and claim lives.

Speaking on Wednesday in Busia during the launch of the Jukwaa la Usalama tour, Murkomen faulted families and neighbours for failing to report when their loved ones disappear or join suspicious religious movements.

He said many of the deaths linked to cults could have been prevented through timely alerts to authorities.

“Please report suspicious religions to authorities well in advance before they cause harm to the people,” Murkomen said.

He expressed concern over the increasing cult-related fatalities, describing them as a result of weakened communal responsibility and vigilance.

“It is not possible for someone to leave Busia, for example, and their neighbours, family, and friends do not report them missing, especially if they have joined suspicious religions,” he said. “Why have we abandoned communal living and community policing, where we keep watch over our neighbours and friends?”

Murkomen warned that cult leaders often establish themselves in isolated locations to escape scrutiny and urged citizens to take note of unusual gatherings or religious activities taking place in hidden areas.

His remarks followed the recent discovery of mass graves at Kwa Bi Nzaro Forest in Kilifi County, where detectives exhumed more than 40 bodies believed to be linked to a cult.

The case has sparked outrage across the country, surfacing less than two years after over 450 bodies were retrieved from Shakahola Forest in what remains one of Kenya’s worst cult-related tragedies.

In the Shakahola case, Paul Mackenzie, the leader of Good News International Church, was accused of instructing followers to fast to death with the promise of entering heaven.

The Kwa Bi Nzaro investigation is being handled by a multi-agency team, with postmortems and DNA tests underway to determine the causes of death and establish the identities of the victims.

The operation is being coordinated at the Malindi Sub-County Hospital mortuary under the leadership of Homicide Director Martin Nyuguto.

Murkomen emphasised that government action alone cannot fully stop such groups, urging citizens to remain alert, report concerns, and uphold community responsibility in protecting lives.