The government has announced that the next phase of exhumation of bodies in the expansive Shakahola forest is set to resume in March of this year.
According to government chief pathologist, Johannsen Oduor, the government wants to ensure that no body is left unaccounted for in the forest, offering closure to families searching for their missing loved ones.
Oduor disclosed that bodies identified during the previous phase of the exercise would be released to their families in March. Speaking at the Kemri Annual Scientific and Health Conference in Nairobi, he outlined the forthcoming phase, which will encompass the recovery of additional bodies.
“We are set to resume the exercise in March, coinciding with the receipt of DNA test results, the release of identified bodies to relatives, and the commencement of the final phase,” Oduor stated. “This phase will involve recovery, identification, postmortem examination, evidence collection, and documentation.”
He mentioned that a multi-stakeholder team involved in the exercise would convene next week to chart the way forward. Oduor also acknowledged the likelihood of some bodies exhumed from Shakahola being interred in a mass grave due to relatives’ refusal to undergo DNA testing to match the bodies with their families.
“Some relatives declined to provide DNA samples, citing affiliation with individuals who had joined Paul Mackenzie’s church,” Oduor explained.
In January, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki classified Good News International Ministries, led by Paul Mackenzie, as a criminal organized group through a gazette notice.
The move was part of efforts to hold accountable those responsible for the Shakahola massacre, where Mackenzie and his followers allegedly instructed their adherents to starve themselves to death in the forest to attain salvation.
