Police are now committed to getting to the bottom of the growing revelations of cult-related killings in the nation, with over 10 having been reported over the past six months.
The latest is the one involving Catholic priest Michael Kyengo, after one of the suspects, Kavivya Mwangagi, confessed to killing him as a sacrifice to a cultic organization.
Consequently, the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) George Kinoti now says that the matter is being investigated deeply, to prevent religious-related killings before they happen.
He told the People Daily that officers have identified Belgut and Kitui as places where cultism has taken root and has proposed the formation of a multi-agency team to tackle the issue.
“We have to be proactive in dealing with the problem. But that is not the case now since we only end up investigating after the killings have already taken place,” he said on Monday.
He also stated that his officers have since received information that some politicians, members of the clergy and business people are already in cults, and are investigating that too.
Kinoti said that interest in the matter was doubled after detectives found a list of 86 people who have supposedly joined the cult in Mwangangi's house in the course of the probe on Fr Kyengo's murder.
He said that there is a dire need to establish the reason behind Kenyans joining cults, which results in brutal killings as has been witnessed in the recent past.
“It has gone beyond us investigating the criminal angle to the murders, to become a complex matter that requires to be investigated fully to determine the root cause. Is it as a result of biting poverty or what is making people to become easy targets of these cults?” he added.