Interior Cabinet Secretary (CS) Kithure Kindiki shed light on the search and rescue of survivors in the Shakahola forest following the mass murder that was allegedly led by Paul Mackenzie.
In a statement, Kindiki stated that the exhumation of bodies in the Shakahola forest had been suspended for only five days.
“It is clarified for the information of the public that: Only the search for graves and exhumation of the victims of the Shakahola Massacre has been suspended to allow for logistical arrangements for the postmortem examination of the additional 123 bodies recovered in Phase 2 of the exhumation exercise,” the statement read in part.
He confirmed that the search and rescue of survivors would continue seamlessly.
“The search for and rescue of survivors within Shakahola Forest and The Chakama Ranch generally will continue uninterrupted and will be extended into the edges of the neighbouring Tsavo East National Park in the coming days using ground and drone search,” he added.
The CS added that the search for graves and exhumation of bodies will continue after the conclusion of the second phase of postmortems.
“Phase 2 postmortems will commence on Wednesday 24th May 2023 at the Malindi Sub-County Hospital.
“Grave search and exhumation shall resume on conclusion of Phase 2 postmortem exercise,” he divulged.
Survivors and Body Count
On Friday, May 19, 4 more survivors were rescued while deep inside the Shakahola forest. This brought the number of survivors to 93.
At the same time, the number of bodies exhumed hit 235.
On May 18, the forensics team announced that the exhumations would take a break so that the postmortems of 123 exhumed bodies to be done.
On April 26, the CS issued a press statement declaring the Shakahola area an active security zone and declared a dusk-to-dawn curfew.
The Shakahola tragedy was unearthed in April 2023 when shallow graves were discovered in the Shakahola forest where controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie had lived together with hundreds of his followers.
Mackenzie is currently in police custody as investigations continue. 30 other leaders of his church are also behind bars.
