This archive report was first published on 29 August 2019.
Published on August 29, 2019, seven members of the Kavonokia sect were arrested in Tharaka Nithi for refusing to provide information to census enumerators.
The sect members, who reside in Gatue, claimed that the census process is satanic and insisted that they would be 'counted in heaven.'
This is not the first time the Kavonokia sect has been involved in controversy. In August 2018, three sect members were arrested for refusing to allow public health officials to administer the polio vaccine to their children.
Similarly, in 2014, police officers and health officials had to storm the homes of some sect members to forcibly administer the polio vaccine to their children.
The Kavonokia sect is known for its unconventional beliefs, including a stance against 'modern' medicine and courtship.
