William Ruto, president of Kenya, has formally apologised for the lack of action taken to intervene before a doomsday cult in the area took a deadly turn.

“I am taking responsibility that, as the president, these (Shakahola murders) should not have happened. For that, I truly say, I’m sorry,” Ruto said during a press conference on Sunday, 14 May.

He went on to add that the blame also lay with the country’s police force and intelligence officials for failing to uncover the group’s activities sooner.

The day before, it was declared that 201 members of a cult in the coastal Shakahola forest, near the town of Malindi, have been exhumed, with the number of dead expected to rise as more than 600 people are still considered missing.

According to reports, the “Good News International Church” – led by Paul Nthenge Mackenzie – instructed its members to starve themselves in order to gain spiritual salvation. Children of the group’s participants were allegedly also deprived of food and water while encouraged to sit in the sun.

So far, 26 people, including Mackenzie, have been detained in connection to the deaths. Nthenge’s lawyer, George Kariuki, says his client has been treated well and is eating and drinking while in police custody.

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