The Kilifi County Government plans to inter 443 Shakahola bodies and body parts by December after investigators cleared the remains for burial.
Kilifi County Executive Committee Member for Health Peter Mwarogo said the remains have been held by the county since the Shakahola tragedy was uncovered in 2023.
The county has since embalmed the remains as efforts to identify victims continue.
Mwarogo said the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has given the county permission to proceed with the interment.
“They have given us the go-ahead for the interment of the bodies. They have to be disposed in a way that they can be identified,” Mwarogo said.
He added that the remains include complete bodies as well as body parts.
“We have full bodies and other body parts embalmed.”
443 Remains Held by Kilifi County
According to Mwarogo, the county currently has 443 bodies and body parts preserved at its facility.
The remains have been part of the long-running forensic and investigative process following the discovery of mass graves in Shakahola in 2023.
The tragedy led to extensive exhumations and the recovery of hundreds of bodies. A parliamentary investigation recorded 428 bodies recovered by October 13, 2023, with another death bringing the total then to 429.
The latest figure given by the county is 443 remains.
14 Shakahola Bodies Identified
Mwarogo said families have so far identified 14 bodies.
The county has now urged relatives who believe their missing family members could be among the unidentified remains to come forward.
Families have been given 21 days to complete the identification process following publication of a Gazette Notice.
The county says the period is intended to give families an opportunity to establish whether their relatives are among the remains.
