News

Kenya Starts Autopsies Of ‘Starvation Cult’ Deaths

Published

2 years ago

May 1, 2023

Forensic experts on Monday began autopsies of more than a hundred corpses found in mass graves linked to a Kenyan pastor accused of inciting his followers to starve to death.

“Officially the process of post-mortem of the bodies starts immediately,” Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki told reporters outside a hospital morgue in the coastal town of Malindi.

“We are here to witness a very critical stage,” he said. “That process is expected to take roughly a week, all going well.”

Investigators will also take DNA samples to help identification, though the full results may take months, the chief government pathologist, Johansen Oduor, said.

Mass graves in the nearby Shakahola forest have revealed scores of dead, most of them children.

But the death toll of 109, which includes a small number of people who were found alive but died on their way to hospital, is still provisional.

“The process of exhumation was temporarily stopped because the experts advised us (that) when it is raining, that process cannot continue,” Kindiki said.

Paul Mackenzie Nthenge, a former taxi driver who created a Christian-based cult called the Good News International Church, is accused of telling followers that starvation offered a path to God.

But Kindiki said Friday that preliminary reports suggested “that some of the victims may not have died of starvation. There were other methods used, including hurting them.”

The discovery of the bodies deeply shocked Kenya — an impact amplified last week by the announcement that a prominent televangelist would face charges over the “mass killing” of his supporters.

Ezekiel Odero, the flamboyant head of the New Life Prayer Centre and Church, who was arrested on Thursday, is suspected of crimes including murder, aiding suicide, abduction, radicalisation, crimes against humanity, child cruelty, fraud and money laundering.

Prosecutor Peter Kiprop said last week that there was “credible information” linking the bodies found in the forest to the deaths of several “innocent and vulnerable followers” of Odero.

Odero and Nthenge share a “history of business investments” including a television station that was used to pass “radicalised messages” to followers, Kiprop said in court documents.

The two pastors are currently in detention and are to appear in court in different towns on Tuesday.

Newly-elected President William Ruto, in remarks on April 24, said there was no difference between rogue cult leader and “terrorists”.

“I have instructed the agencies responsible to take up the matter and to get to the root cause and to the bottom of the activities of… people who want to use religion to advance weird, unacceptable ideology,” he said.

More than 4,000 churches are registered in Christian-majority Kenya.

But past efforts to weed out crooks and charlatans through regulation have been thwarted by accusations that this would violate constitutional guarantees for freedom of religion.

“In the course of the week,” Kindiki said, “the president (will) be announcing members of a presidential task force to deal with generally how we govern religious activities in our country.

“And how we make sure we don’t infringe on the sacred right of the freedom of worship, opinion and belief, but at the same time we don’t allow criminals to misuse that right to hurt, kill, torture and starve people to death.”

News

Shock As Adeleke Employs Roadside puff-puff Hawker As Govt House Chef

Published

5 hours ago

August 30, 2025

Editor

Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, on Thursday shocked a female puff-puff seller during a rally in Osogbo by buying all her snacks with ₦50,000 and offering her employment as a chef at the Government House.

This happened when Osun public servants trooped out in their thousands in what they called an appreciation solidarity rally in support of the governor for his support and care since he took over state governance.

It was observed that the governor, who sat in the bus, had sighted the woman who was among the crowd cheering him.

He immediately beckoned to the woman carrying a plastic container filled with puff-puff on her head and asked how much it would cost to buy all the snacks.

The female hawker, who was visibly surprised and star-struck at the level of her proximity to the governor, found it difficult to even tell the governor how much she sold the snacks.

Surprisingly, Adeleke handed her a bundle of ₦50,000 to the cheers of the crowd.

The lucky woman knelt down in appreciation of the governor’s generosity.

Excited onlookers quickly rushed to share the snacks in the plastic already purchased by the governor.

The governor invited the vendor inside the vehicle where one of his officials questioned her academic background, and she revealed that she holds a Nigerian Certificate in Education.

Adeleke further asked about the dishes she could prepare and instructed his aides to take her contact details for employment as a chef in the Government House.

Confirming the development, the Commissioner II at the Osun State Civil Service Commission, Olaniyan Taofeek, shared the video on X (formerly Twitter), writing: “The moment Gov. Adeleke turned the life of a puff-puff seller into a Government House chef.”

A Special Assistant to the Governor on Digital Media, Oni Gbenga Lawrence, also corroborated the incident in a post on X, stating: “Moment Governor Ademola Adeleke turned the life of a puff-puff seller to Government Chef… not only ₦50k but he invited her into his car and employed her as chef in the Government House.”

The Guardian correspondent, who was at the scene of the welcome rally, made efforts to interview the lucky vendor, but they did not yield as she was not allowed to alight from the bus throughout the event.
(The Guardian)

News

Katsina Govt Revokes Licenses Of All Private, Community Schools

Published

6 hours ago

August 30, 2025

Editor

The Katsina State Government has withdrawn the operating licenses of all private and community schools in the state, with effect from August 13, 2025.

The announcement came through a circular issued by the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education and signed by Commissioner Hajiya Zainab Musa-Musawa.

The ministry’s Public Relations Officer, Malam Sani Danjuma, released the document in Katsina on Saturday.

According to the circular, the move is part of the government’s effort to strengthen quality assurance and standardization within the education sector.

“The withdrawal of licenses is aimed at ensuring that schools operate in line with approved standards and provide quality education to students,” Danjuma said.

The circular also outlined a review of fees for license application, registration, and annual renewal.

“Owners of affected schools are required to obtain fresh licenses by submitting proof of payment to the ministry on or before September 30, 2025.”

The statement also added that school operators have been warned not to increase tuition or other charges without government approval.

The ministry further promised to issue additional guidelines soon, including categorization of schools and the revised fee structure.

News

JUST IN: Oldest Missionary To Nigeria, Ruth Elton, Is Dead

Published

7 hours ago

August 30, 2025

Editor

British-born Nigerian missionary, Ruth Elton, reputed to be the oldest missionary has passed on at the age of 91.

Ruth Elton, born 7 September 1933, was a British-born Nigerian missionary whose lifelong dedication to faith, healing, and revival left an indelible mark on communities across western and central Nigeria.

It was learnt that Elton died on Saturday at Sharon compound, Alafia Bamin Quarters in Ilesa, Osun State.

She was the only daughter of Pa Elton and her remains have been deposited at the mortuary.

Ruth Elton, daughter of Sydney Granville Elton (Pa Elton), who is referred to as one of the founding fathers of Pentecostalism in Nigeria, had approached a Kaduna court and nationalised as a Nigerian.

At old age and despite the happenings in Nigeria, she still held in high esteem her father’s prophecies that although Nigeria could be known globally for corruption, it would only for a while as new dawn would beckon when the country would be known worldwide for righteousness and prosperity.

Elton moved to Nigeria in 1937 with her parents and served as a Christian missionary across Egbe, Okene, Koton Karfe, and other parts of Kogi, Ondo, Oyo, and Osun States.

A naturalised Nigerian, having renounced her British citizenship in the 1970s, she embraced the country completely and became fluent in Ebira and Yoruba.

Elton, who remained single, believed that she had made a true mark in the country and apart from her missionary work, she saw her efforts in taming infant mortality, especially in Okene, Kogi State as a generational impact.

Relating her experience on infant mortality in the country, Elton recently noted that many newborn babies had passed on due to lack of proper care and hygiene, adding that the practice of force-feeding babies contributed to the challenges, especially in the face of poor awareness.