Shakahola Massacre: Grieving Families Begin Burials as Over 300 Victims Remain Unidentified

Families of victims of the Shakahola Massacre on Thursday continued the painful process of collecting the remains of their loved ones from the Malindi Mortuary

After two agonising years of waiting, one family received four bodies  a mother and her three children  bringing the total number of released bodies to 16

Human rights groups report that at least 60 victims have been positively identified, while more than 300 remain unclaimed as DNA testing continues

Among those collecting remains was George Keya Okaka, who lost his wife and five children in the tragedy

Overcome with grief, Okaka said only four bodies have been identified so far his wife and three children aged 15, 11, and 6 and he continues to hope for the recovery of his two remaining children, aged four and eight months

Okaka recounted how his wife became involved with the controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie in 2019, leading the family down a dark path that ended in the Shakahola Forest

Despite multiple attempts to rescue her from Mackenzie’s cult, she eventually fled with their children in 2023, abandoning home and school to join the sect

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Human rights activists have urged families with missing relatives to come forward for DNA testing to speed up the identification process

“So far, 60 bodies have matched through DNA, but more than 300 remain unidentified,” said Walid Sketty, a human rights advocate

“This process is vital not only for closure but also for justice in the ongoing case,” added Mathias Shipeta from Haki Afrika

The body identification and release exercise will continue on Friday as families prepare for long-delayed burials and justice efforts move forward

Writer : Mweru Mbugua