Kenya’s starvation cult left over 100 dead – a psychologist’s view on how to support people as they process tragedy
IN early April 2023, Kenyan police discovered a mass grave linked to a Pentecostal church in the coastal town of Malindi. By the end of the month, at least 110 bodies had been dug up from shallow graves in the area’s Shakahola forest. Author STEPHEN ASATSA, Counseling Psychologist, Catholic University of Eastern Africa A loss of this magnitude is traumatic and painful for the families and friends directly affected, and also for the public exposed to the details. The level of media attention, public backlash and judgement of the dead makes the experience of the loss even more difficult for…