Shakahola will be converted to national memorial site - Kindiki

He is accused of telling his followers to fast till death to meet their maker.

Piece by: sharon mwende and Lucy Mumbi
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• So far, some 95 persons have been rescued from the forest, with some still in hospitals while others were reunited with their families.

Shakahola crime scene
Image: File

Interior CS Kithure Kindiki has said the Shakahola forest will be converted into a national memorial site.

Speaking in Kilifi County on Tuesday, Kindiki said the area cannot remain as it is.

He said after the exhumation exercise is concluded, the government will call a congregation of all believers in the country and national leadership for a commemoration service.

“The government will convert it into a national memorial, a place of remembrance so that Kenyans and the world do not forget what happened here,” he said.

The CS reiterated his vow to ensure that controversial pastor Paul Mackenzie, who is the main suspect in the Shakahola deaths, is convicted.

He is accused of telling his followers to fast till death to meet their maker. The CS also revealed that those who changed their minds about fasting were killed.

Kindiki said the case was unlike others, affirming that “this case against Mackenzie must be won, the perpetrators must be convicted”.

“Our investigations team has assured us that we have a watertight case against Mackenzie and his collaborators who are in custody. We have evidence that is sufficient to prove charges of genocide and crimes against humanity,” the CS added.

The search is concentrated on approximately 37,921 acres, following on leads that Mackenzie may have extended his activities.

“That is why in every 200 acres, there will be a security road to facilitate thorough, methodical, and scientific investigation and evidence gathering,” he said.

Phase three of the exhumation exercise commenced on Tuesday.

So far, more than 240 bodies have been recovered with the CS saying there are still other graves in the 800-acre forest.

Lauding the multi-agency team involved in the exercise, Kindiki assured that they will not leave anyone in the forest.

“Security roads will be opened in every 100 acres of the Chakama Ranch to aid in methodical and scientific search and rescue efforts as well as identification of graves. We shall not leave any of our citizens in the forest, dead or alive,” he said.

He reiterated that the government has nothing to hide regarding the Shakahola case, adding that it will ensure that such tragedy is not repeated in the country.

So far, some 95 persons have been rescued from the forest, with some still in hospitals while others were reunited with their families.

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