The leader of a starvation cult is still eating food, but 318 of his followers have died, and 64 are on hunger strike, report says

• Followers of a starvation cult will undergo psychiatric evaluations as they continue to refuse food.
• Authorities have so far uncovered the bodies of 318 members of the Kenyan cult, per CNN.

A Kenyan court has ordered a psychiatric evaluation of 64 followers of a starvation cult as they continue their hunger strike, CNN reported.

The cult's leader, Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, was reportedly arrested on April 15 amid investigations into the death of four followers who died of starvation. However, he has not faced any formal charges, per CNN.

Only Mackenzie, a former taxi driver, and his assistant, Smart Mwakalama, have been accepting meals as his other followers, members of Mackenzie's Good News International Church, continue a hunger strike, it reported.

In total, authorities have uncovered the bodies of 318 people who died after Mackenzie encouraged his followers to starve themselves to "meet Jesus," according to CNN.

Cult members had moved with Mackenzie, a controversial TV evangelist, to the Shakahola forest in eastern Kenya, an area he dubbed a new "Holy Land," according to the BBC. It is alleged he brainwashed his followers to starve their children first and "become heroes before God after death," according to court documents seen by CNN.

Writing on Twitter, the Kenyan Office of The Director Of Public Prosecutions said that 64 victims rescued from the Shakahola Forest would be subjected to a psychiatric assessment.

Prosecutors said one cult member refused "to comply with court-set rules including eating and drinking." She will be imprisoned until her case is heard on June 29, per the tweet.

On Monday, the 64 cult followers were charged with attempted suicide for continuing to refuse food, according to CNN.