Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki has expressed fears that there might be many more victims of the Shakahola cult as the second phase of the exhumation exercise kicked off on Tuesday.
Speaking after arriving in Malindi to supervise the exercise, CS Kindiki said the exhumation will take longer than expected as he termed the Shakahola cult deaths as a highly organised crime.
“I am afraid we have many graves. The damage is quite significant, 20 mass graves are currently being opened. The process is far from over,” said the Interior minister.
CS Kindiki also revealed that detectives are closing in on conspirators of the starvation cult leader Paul Mackenzie. He said search and rescue efforts for other members of the Good News International Church were also ongoing.
“On behalf of the government I want to assure the people of Kenya that the government will inform the public the whole truth of what has happened to our people here,” the CS said.
Prof Kindiki said the government would use all available resources to establish what had occurred at Shakahola.
To complement the ground teams that are combing the vast Shakahola forest with sniffer dogs, authorities are also using drones the CS said.
Meanwhile, pastor Paul Mackenzie and 17 other co-accused persons remain in police custody with the prosecution seeking a further 90 days to allow for the completion of investigations.
Senior principal magistrate Yusuf Shikanda is expected to rule on the request on Wednesday.
