This archive report was first published on 25 October 2019.
On October 16th, 2019, the body of Catholic Priest Michael Maingi Kyengo was discovered buried in a shallow grave in Embu, eight days after he went missing.
According to detectives, a suspect, Kavivya Mwangangi, 46, was arrested on Thursday in Gategi area, Embu County, following the interrogation of Michael Muthini Mutunga, the prime suspect in the killing of the priest.
Mwangangi confessed to being a member of a cult named Illuminati Official Clun, based in Sandton City, Johannesburg, South Africa, and provided details of the cult's website and log-in credentials that helped detectives retrieve an application filled in by Mutunga in September 2018.
As part of the application, Mutunga wrote, 'I fully have the potential to join Illuminati so as to become financially stable and help the community eradicate poverty, and shine in the society.'
Police believe that members of the cult are required to sacrifice a close relative or friend as a condition to increase their wealth, and that Father Kyengo was a long-time friend of the two suspects, with Mutunga telling police that he was in a gay relationship with the deceased.
A police source stated, 'The priest was a sacrificial lamb. His best friend claims they sacrificed him in a secret cult they practice.'
On Thursday, the court allowed police to hold suspect Mutunga for 10 days for investigations into the killing to be completed.
