This archive report was first published on 30 August 2019.
On August 28, 2019, police in Tharaka Nithi County arrested seven members of the Kavonokia sect for refusing to provide census officials with vital information.
The sect members, residents of Gatue, claimed that the census exercise was 'satanic' and refused to be counted.
According to the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the sect members were arrested after they refused to cooperate with census officials.
August 2018, three members of the sect were arrested for refusing to allow health officials to administer polio vaccines to their children.
In 2014, police and health officials were forced to use a ladder to enter the homes of some sect members, who refused to take the polio vaccine.
The Kavonokia sect is known for its rejection of modern practices, including medicine and relationships.
One of the sect members was also arrested in Kitui in connection with a similar case, but was later released after claiming to have changed his views.
Published on August 30, 2019, at 1:00 PM.
