Woman named prime suspect in Kwa Binzaro deaths as 11 arrested, 13 bodies exhumed so far
She added that detectives are also seeking to establish how the woman acquired the land in question, which is part of Chakama Ranch.
A woman has been identified as the main suspect behind the Kwa Binzaro Village deaths in Kilifi County, Coast Regional Commissioner Rhoda Onyancha has confirmed.
Speaking during a briefing, Onyancha said the woman was arrested alongside 10 other suspects, bringing the total number of people in custody to 11.
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“So far, investigations are ongoing, and we have arrested the main culprit, the lady who was operating here, and 10 other suspects, so we have a total of 11 people with us,” she said.
She added that detectives are also seeking to establish how the woman acquired the land in question, which is part of Chakama Ranch.
“We want to investigate and establish who sold this land to her because this is Chakama Ranch, and we are aware the owners have not sold this part of the land to anybody. Once we finalise, we will take legal action against those doing the same,” she said.
She urged families of victims and survivors to cooperate with the authorities. “From what we have established so far, people are coming back, or those who are here are the ones we rescued in 2023. Some went back home, but some of them were not fully accepted by their families or communities, and that made them return to this area.”
Onyancha appealed to relatives to accept survivors back into their homes to prevent them from returning to radical groups.
“If their families were able to accept them and they were integrated back into the community, we would not have people coming back again to Chakama or this forest to continue practising this religion,” she said.
She added that families should also help identify victims through DNA. “We still have bodies lying in morgues since 2023. We are appealing to families to come and provide their DNA samples so they can take their loved ones back home and bury them,” she said.
Onyancha acknowledged the challenges faced by officers monitoring the vast ranch but commended them for detecting the activity before more lives were lost.
“What we have always advised our officers, and we keep telling them, is to be vigilant because this ranch is vast, spanning over 50,000 acres. So people coming into this ranch to carry on with this activity, we know it is challenging, it is not easy to detect,” she said.
Exhumations at Kwa Binzaro began on Thursday, and by Monday, four more bodies had been recovered, bringing the total number of bodies exhumed to 13. Eighteen body parts have also been discovered.
Onyancha said post-mortem examinations and DNA testing will determine whether the body parts belong to those already exhumed or to other victims.
She said authorities expect to finalise exhumations this week before proceeding to autopsies. She expressed gratitude to the multi-agency team on the ground, including the Kilifi County Commissioner, homicide detectives, pathologists, the Kenya Red Cross, human rights organisations, and local community members.
“I want to appreciate the team being led by the Kilifi County Commissioner, the homicide director and pathologists. I also want to appreciate those who have been with us since we started — from the Kenya Red Cross, friends from human rights organisations who are also here, and the community around this area who have been of great assistance to us since we started the exercise,” she said.
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