Families of Shakahola victims appeal for state’s help to bury their kin

The families of the Shakahola victims are urging the government to provide assistance and ease the burden of burial expenses for their deceased kin.

As they grapple with the profound loss of their loved ones, they are faced with the daunting financial responsibility of laying them to rest.

They are now appealing to the authorities for support, seeking relief from this additional strain during their time of mourning.

According to them, the government has given them short notice to prepare themselves for the burial process.

The government made an announcement last week that on Tuesday, March 26, the families will receive their kins (34) whose DNA matched.

Following the announcement, Rodgers Mwibo will now be forced to travel from Nairobi to Malindi, a distance of 425 kilometres by road to pick up the remains of his mother.

“The transport fee alone to and fro is Sh5,000. I also need to find accommodation on Monday since the exercise will kick off on Tuesday morning. That is an expense already for me,” he told The Eastleigh Voice.

Mwibo said he lost his mother, sister and niece who were devoted followers of Paul Mackenzie’s church, Good News International.

However, he received the DNA confirmation of only his mother. The fate of his sister and niece remains unknown.

Burial traditions

“As per our traditions my mother is to be laid to rest in Bungoma County, her homestead. This means I need more than Sh100,000 just to transport her body from the Malindi morgue all the way to Bungoma. There is the mourning process by family and friends then lay her to rest. All this is money that we had not prepared ourselves,” said Mwibo.

William Pondo, the second-born son of Titus Ngonyo during an interview at their homestead in Muyeye, Malindi. (Photo: Farhiya Hussein)

He noted the family decided to open a WhatsApp group for financial assistance but the money was not enough to cover the burial expenses.

“We would appreciate it if the government gives us a way to start because we are on our own,”

Titus Ngonyo, who resides in Muyeye in Malindi, has a challenging assignment ahead to conduct burial preparations for four of his family members, which he says is an emotional and financial burden for him.

“As a family, we decided we cannot bury them immediately, we need to do the mourning process so this means, once we receive the bodies we need to take them to a morgue facility where we can afford to preserve them as we do the burial preparations. This is not only painful but also expensive for us,” he said.

He said the government conducted DNA tests for his wife, his last-born son, a daughter-in-law and his grandson.

According to Ngonyo, eight of his family members went missing inside the Shakahola forest.

Titus Ngonyo inside his home in Muyeye, Malindi during an interview with The Eastleigh Voice. (Photo: Farhiya Hussein)

Out of those, four are at the morgue after the DNA tests came back and their bodies are now ready for collection.

One grandson was rescued last year but his eldest son (a GSU officer), a daughter-in-law and another grandson's fate remain a mystery.

“My eldest son was the breadwinner of our family. Since he left, we are struggling to put food on our table. When my wife escaped home to go to Shakahola forest, she took everything in our home leaving behind a mattress. I am now living from hand to mouth. How can I then afford to do a burial of four of my people?” posed Ngonyo.

He said he now depends on his second-born son William Pondo for survival.

“I got lucky because when all this was happening, I was in Mombasa County. My brother had promised he would take me to college but today I have no idea if I will ever see him again,” said Pondo.

Ngonyo noted he cannot afford a casket for each of the family members so they will all be buried in one gravesite at their home.