Kilifi County to dispose over 400 unclaimed bodies of Shakahola victims by December

According to the Kilifi County Executive Committee (CEC) Peter Mwarogo, the bodies have been with the county since 2023 when the incident was first unearthed, and 443 bodies have since been embalmed at the county base.

He intimated that investigators and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has given them the green light to proceed with the disposal.

"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," he said.

"We have full bodies and other body parts embalmed."

Meanwhile, 14 bodies have been identified by families and unclaimed bodies will be disposed 21 days after the publication of a gazette notice, and the process will be complete by December.

Family members are now being urged to identify their relatives before the county takes action.

"We have identified a land near Shakahola where the bodies will be interred. By December we will have concluded this matter," CEC Mwarogo added.

The tragedy has moved into its critical judicial and final forensic phases. 

Cult leader Paul Mackenzie and his co-defendants have remained in custody facing multiple streams of charges, including murder, manslaughter, terrorism, and child abuse.

One of the suspects implicated in the massacre, Enos Amanya, also known as Haleluya, has admitted his role in the death of 429 victims. 

Appearing before the court, Amanya, through his lawyer Kelvin Lisanza, asked for a reduced sentence, expressing regret for his actions.