Senator Madzayo demands urgent probe into bodies found in Kwa Binzaro forest
The Senate Minority Leader ruled out a religious cult as the cause of these deaths, unlike the Shakahola case.
Kilifi Senator Stewart Madzayo has raised alarm over the discovery of bodies buried in shallow graves at Kwa Binzaro forest, demanding that authorities provide answers on how such atrocities occurred.
Madzayo also urged the government to address the situation of more than 200 bodies stored in a container at Malindi Level 4 Hospital, insisting that families be allowed to identify their missing relatives, or that the unidentified be given proper burials.
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“The government should allow people whose kin are missing to come and identify them. If they cannot be identified, then the government should bury them. They should not be left there,” Madzayo said.
Homicide detectives have so far recovered over 30 bodies from the forest.
The revelation comes less than two years after over 450 bodies were recovered from Shakahola forest, a case linked to a religious cult.
Pastor Paul Mackenzie of the Good News International Church is accused of instructing followers to starve themselves and their children to death to reach heaven.
At a press briefing in Parliament buildings on Friday, Madzayo said the bodies are not of residents but appear to have been killed elsewhere and brought into Kilifi for burial.
“The people of Kilifi are not complaining that their relatives are missing. These are people who are being killed out of Kilifi and brought in for burial,” he said, challenging the police to investigate the origin of the bodies.
“We demand answers from the police and the national government to explain how this horror could happen again, less than two years after the Shakahola massacre shocked the conscience of the world,” Madzayo added.
He questioned whether Kwa Bi Nzaro is being used as a dumping ground where people are killed and buried in secret.
The Senate Minority Leader ruled out a religious cult as the cause of these deaths, unlike the Shakahola case.
“I don’t know if this has anything to do with the cult. The police should be able to tell us why so many people are being killed and brought to Kwa Bi Nzaro forest for burial in shallow graves,” he said.
Madzayo also criticised the police for their silence and inaction, noting that over 200 bodies have remained in Kilifi hospitals for almost two years without resolution.
The police on Friday admitted there were failures in their response to the Kwa Binzaro cult tragedy
While addressing journalists at a press conference in Mombasa on Friday, Police spokesperson Michael Muchiri acknowledged lapses within the country’s security system.
“It is a saddening development. There seems to have been a disconnect between intelligence services, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, and the wider administration,” Muchiri told reporters.
Forensic experts earlier confirmed that some of the remains were relatively fresh compared to those previously unearthed, suggesting burials that occurred only weeks or months ago.
Authorities have urged families with missing relatives to register details and provide DNA samples at a Kenya Red Cross desk set up at Malindi District Hospital for possible identification.
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