Mother's Agonizing Wait: A Tragic Search for Children Linked to Kenya's Starvation Cult

Carolyne Odour has told the BBC she desperately fears for the fate of her two young sons who went missing two months ago with their father - a follower of the teachings of a notorious starvation cult leader.

Odour says that amid an ongoing investigation into more deaths linked to the cult, she has identified her husband's body at a mortuary in the coastal town of Malindi. His corpse was found in July in the village of Kwa Binzaro, near the remote Shakahola Forest, where over 400 bodies were discovered in 2023 in one of the worst cases of cult-related mass deaths.

She is now awaiting the results of DNA tests being conducted on more than 30 recently unearthed bodies.

I felt pain. I barely recognised him. His body was badly decomposing, Odour, 40, expressed about her husband Samuel Owino Owoyo.

She believes her sons, 12-year-old Daniel and nine-year-old Elijah, traveled with their father to Kwa Binzaro in late June. Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Mackenzie is currently on trial over the so-called Shakahola Forest Massacre and has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter.

Mackenzie is alleged to have told his followers they would go to heaven more quickly if they stopped eating, leading to tragic outcomes. Concerns have also emerged regarding his continued communication with followers from jail.

Odour recalls that her husband's shift in beliefs, influenced by Mackenzie’s teachings over the past four to five years, caused friction in their relationship, particularly regarding their children's education and health care.

On June 28, her husband left with their two youngest sons under seemingly innocent pretenses. When he failed to contact her after the trip, her worries escalated, leading her to report them missing and retrace their steps to discover the trip ended in chaos at the cult-linked area.

Tragically, a call led her to discover her husband’s body in the Malindi mortuary, further complicating her ongoing anguish as she searches for her sons.

With investigations continuing, authorities report 32 bodies have been exhumed alongside many scattered body parts in the forest, igniting conversation surrounding the need for stricter laws to manage religious groups in Kenya.

As the search for Odour’s sons remains unresolved, she reflects on the lost chances of education and the daily pain caused by their absence.

I was looking forward to one of my sons going to grade 7 and the other grade 4. Every time I see a child wearing a uniform I feel pain because of their absence. I don't know how they are doing, she laments.