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.
Ms. 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, inland from Malindi and near the remote Shakahola Forest, where more than 400 bodies were found in 2023 in one of the worst ever cases of cult-related mass deaths.
Ms. Odour is now awaiting the results of DNA tests being carried out on more than 30 recently unearthed bodies.
I felt pain. I barely recognised him. His body was badly decomposing, Ms. Odour, 40, said about her husband Samuel Owino Owoyo. She believes her sons, 12-year-old Daniel and nine-year-old Elijah, travelled with their 45-year-old father to Kwa Binzaro at the end of June.
Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Mackenzie is currently on trial over the so-called Shakahola Forest Massacre - and has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter. He is alleged to have told his followers they would get to heaven more quickly if they stopped eating - and there have been concerns he has been in touch with his followers from jail.
Ms. Odour says her husband started listening to the teachings of Mr. Mackenzie four or five years ago.
He changed and he didn't want the kids to go to school, she said. When the kids would fall ill he'd say that God would heal them. He really believed those teachings.
The couple had six children together at their home in Mudulusia in Busia county, western Kenya, near Lake Victoria. His change in opinion on formal education and medical interventions caused friction between them.
The teachings didn't make sense to me, Ms. Odour stated. When a child is sick, yes I believe God can heal them, but I also know that when a child is sick you take them to hospital.
On 28 June, her husband went off with their two youngest sons, telling her he was going to his home village. The last phone call they had was the last she heard from him.
Ms. Odour became suspicious when he did not contact her again. She discovered he had actually taken a bus over 900km east to Kwa Binzaro.
Two months later, she confirmed his death in a mortuary and found he had been discovered near a house suspected to be linked to the cult and appeared to have died by strangulation. Police have since arrested individuals in connection with the case.
As the search for more remains continues, Ms. Odour endures the painful uncertainty of her children's fate as investigations expose the devastating impact of this cult-like ideology. Every time I see a child wearing uniform I feel pain because of their absence. I don't know how they are doing.\
Ms. 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, inland from Malindi and near the remote Shakahola Forest, where more than 400 bodies were found in 2023 in one of the worst ever cases of cult-related mass deaths.
Ms. Odour is now awaiting the results of DNA tests being carried out on more than 30 recently unearthed bodies.
I felt pain. I barely recognised him. His body was badly decomposing, Ms. Odour, 40, said about her husband Samuel Owino Owoyo. She believes her sons, 12-year-old Daniel and nine-year-old Elijah, travelled with their 45-year-old father to Kwa Binzaro at the end of June.
Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Mackenzie is currently on trial over the so-called Shakahola Forest Massacre - and has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter. He is alleged to have told his followers they would get to heaven more quickly if they stopped eating - and there have been concerns he has been in touch with his followers from jail.
Ms. Odour says her husband started listening to the teachings of Mr. Mackenzie four or five years ago.
He changed and he didn't want the kids to go to school, she said. When the kids would fall ill he'd say that God would heal them. He really believed those teachings.
The couple had six children together at their home in Mudulusia in Busia county, western Kenya, near Lake Victoria. His change in opinion on formal education and medical interventions caused friction between them.
The teachings didn't make sense to me, Ms. Odour stated. When a child is sick, yes I believe God can heal them, but I also know that when a child is sick you take them to hospital.
On 28 June, her husband went off with their two youngest sons, telling her he was going to his home village. The last phone call they had was the last she heard from him.
Ms. Odour became suspicious when he did not contact her again. She discovered he had actually taken a bus over 900km east to Kwa Binzaro.
Two months later, she confirmed his death in a mortuary and found he had been discovered near a house suspected to be linked to the cult and appeared to have died by strangulation. Police have since arrested individuals in connection with the case.
As the search for more remains continues, Ms. Odour endures the painful uncertainty of her children's fate as investigations expose the devastating impact of this cult-like ideology. Every time I see a child wearing uniform I feel pain because of their absence. I don't know how they are doing.\
