The discovery of mass graves at the Shakahola forest in Kilifi county back in April continues to get more horrific with the exhumation of more bodies at the expansive ranch.
The exhumation exercise entered the fourth phase last week and on Monday, the death toll had hit 403.
It followed the discovery of 12 more bodies from shallow graves in the forest where controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie had his Good News International Church.
In her daily briefings at the Kilifi County Referral Hospital command centre, Coast Regional Commissioner Rhoda Onyancha said 95 people have so far been rescued alive since the operation started in early April.
She said people arrested in connection with the mass murders are 37, including Pastor Paul and his wife, Joyce Mwikamba.
Onyancha said since the exhumation started, homicide detectives working at the exhumation site have collected 258 DNA samples for the purpose of identifying the deceased.
Government Pathologist Johansen Oduor said during previous autopsies that some of the bodies are decomposed beyond recognition and can only be identified through DNA profiling.
