Kilifi county has issued a 21-day ultimatum to families of victims of the Shakahola massacre to identify and collect their relatives' remains. The county is currently holding 443 bodies and body parts in a temporary morgue at Malindi Sub-County Hospital. This process is expected to conclude by December. Kilifi Health executive Peter Mwarogo stated that investigations by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations have been completed, allowing the county to proceed with interring the remains.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations has concluded its investigations, and the 443 bodies have been embalmed and are being stored in a temporary facility. Mwarogo mentioned that the bodies will be buried in a manner that allows for future identification, guided by the DCI. A meeting with members of the joint Senate committees on Public Investments and Special Funds, and Health was held at the Malindi Sub County Hospital to discuss the matter. The committees were led by CPSIFC vice chairperson Beth Syengo and Health counterpart Miriam Omar.
The remains will be interred in a designated area near Shakahola forest. So far, only 14 of the 443 remains have been identified by relatives through DNA matching. Mwarogo revealed that some families have been traced but declined to collect the remains due to the stigma associated with the tragedy. The DCI has retained records of the DNA matching and identification process for ongoing legal proceedings.
A Gazette notice has been published, giving relatives 21 days to come forward and claim the bodies. If the period expires without the bodies being claimed, the county will approach the courts for authority to inter the remains. However, Senators have urged the county to go beyond the gazette notice and use wider publicity to inform families who may still be searching for their relatives.
Senators, including Elgeyo Marakwet Senator William Kisang, suggested that the county should use media, TV, and social media to publicize the deadline, as relying on the gazette notice alone may leave some families unaware. The 443 remains include complete bodies and body parts, which were recovered during the exhumation process. Some bodies had been eaten by wild animals, making the recovery process challenging.
The temporary storage facility at the hospital is taking up space needed by the hospital, and the county wants to conclude the matter by December. The hospital's conventional mortuary has a capacity of 25 bodies and currently has 22. To ease the pressure, the county is constructing a new mortuary at the back of the hospital, which is about 90 percent complete and expected to be operational in the coming months.
The Shakahola massacre occurred more than three years ago, when mass graves were discovered, containing hundreds of suspected followers of controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie, who died after allegedly being subjected to extreme starvation and other forms of abuse. The county aims to relocate mortuary services away from the front of the facility once the new mortuary is operational.
Key points
- Kilifi county gives families 21 days to identify and collect Shakahola massacre victims' remains
- Only 14 of the 443 remains have been identified by relatives through DNA matching
- County plans to inter unclaimed bodies in a designated area near Shakahola forest
