Air hostess Beatrice Ajenta is among dozens missing as 73 bodies in mass graves have so far been recovered.
The number rose to 73 following the exhumation of 26 more bodies on Monday, April 24, 2023, in the Shakahola forest in Malindi, Kilifi county.
The death toll which has been rising steadily since operations began could rise further following Red Cross revealing that at least 112 people have been reported missing in the area.
The bodies belong to followers of a cult identified as Good News International Church under its leader, Paul Mackenzie.
It’s now emerging that followers of Mackenzie’s cult are made up of not only the perceived poor in resources, but also well-read, career individuals.
An air hostess Beatrice Ajenta Charles quit her job after 10 years working for an international airline to join the cult in Malindi.
Beatrice is said to have had a high-flying job in Doha, Qatar, before she quit to join the cult.
The hostess sold her investments, including a prime Ksh7 million land to join Mackenzie’s church.
According to relatives of Beatrice, she took to the pastor all the proceeds from selling the land as tithe and relocated to the remote village of Shakahola, where she joined her mother, who had been a long-time member of the sect.
Members of her family say she took a flight to Malindi, then reached Shakahola via a matatu, together with her sister and a niece.
Beatrice Ajenta Charles joined the church a few weeks ago, and her close friend Anna said that she followed her parents to join the church for fasting, which has led to the deaths of tens of people.
A report indicated that the woman met her friend days before she went to Shakahole village for starvation on the promise to see Jesus as Mackenzie told his followers.
On April 4, 2023, an uneasy-looking Beatrice briefly met her close best friend Anna and left her with a necklace bearing her son Jason’s photo.
That would be the last time that Anna would see her friend Betty as her efforts to find out her whereabouts would be fruitless in the days that followed.
Beatrice’s sister Constance and their parents are believed to be senior members of Mackenzie’s church, and it is alleged they had Betty’s nine-year-old son Jason also starve to death. He died in March 2023.
Beatrice and Constance had a brother called Michael, whose whereabouts remain unknown.
