The government has announced plans to build a memorial at Chakama Ranch where the Shakahola massacre happened.
In a statement, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki said the memorial will serve as a reminder of what happened in perpetuity.
Kindiki issued the statement in Kilifi Town after holding the State of the County Security Appraisal Forum with the Kilifi County Security Heads.
The CS also announced that the government has started releasing the bodies of Shakahola massacre victims to their families for burial.
Also, the government is conducting a check at the Shakahola forest to ensure the exhumation is complete and professionally closed.
“The process of release of the bodies of the victims of Shakahola massacre has commenced while the scene of crime teams are directed to make a final check at the Shakahola Forest to ensure the exhumation is complete and professionally closed,” Kindiki stated.
“The Government will acquire parts of the Chakama Ranch where the main suspect carried out his atrocious crimes on the people of Kenya and build a memorial to remind us of what happened in perpetuity.”
Kindiki has also promised to put to account public officials who allowed the massacre to happen under their watch.
“Once the Courts lift the prevailing injunction, the accountability of public officials who contributed to the occurrence of Shakahola atrocities in whatever manner will ensue through the Commission of Inquiry appointed by the President,” he added.
The CS also put on notice land fraudsters and criminal gangs encroaching on public land, especially in the coastal region.
“Land fraud, illegal encroachment on private and public land, criminal gangs, the sale and consumption of illicit alcohol, narcotic drugs, and psychotropic substances and poor transition of children into secondary school are the key security and enforcement priorities in Kilifi County,” Kindiki added.
Shakahola massacre
At least 429 bodies have been exhumed from Shakahola forest, while 95 were rescued while starving to death over beliefs instilled by controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie.
So far, 34 bodies have been identified even as the government engages the families to bring closure.
In February, the court ordered Mackenzie to be hospitalised alongside 94 others for staging a hunger strike.
The orders were issued on Tuesday, February 20, 2024, by Chief Magistrate Alex Ithuku, who was informed that the suspects had been on a hunger strike for several days.
Mackenzie, alongside the 94 suspects, were charged with manslaughter, assault and causing grievous bodily harm under the Penal Code.
