Government’s Chief Pathologist Johansen Oduor has finished the autopsies on 112 bodies exhumed from Shakahola forest in Kilifi County after conducting the final 12 postmortems.
Dr Oduor revealed that one more body was retrieved from Shakahola shallow graves on Friday, as he revealed that most of the 112 people died from starvation and strangulation.
He indicated that the government would resume its exhumations at the vast Chakama Ranch in Shakahola on Sunday if the weather conditions in the region in Kilifi improve.
He made the revelations hours after President William Ruto established a Commission of Inquiry into the cult deaths in Shakahola linked to controversial Pastor Paul Mackenzie.
The commission will be chaired by Appellate Court judge Jessie Lesiit with Justice (Rtd), Dr Frank Njenga, Mary Kasango, Bishop Catherine Mutua, Dr Jonathan Lodompui, Wanyama Musiambu, Albert Musasia and Eric Gumbo as its commissioners.
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The mandate of the Commission of Inquity will be to look into the deaths, torture and mistreatment of members of Mackenzie’s Good News International Church in Malindi.
This comes as Pastor Mackenzie, his wife Rhoda Maweu and 16 other co-accused will remain detained in police cells for five more days to await the custodial ruling by the Court.
Shanzu Senior Principal Magistrate Yusuf Shikanda said on Friday that he will on Wednesday May 10 rule on whether the court will permit the State to detain the 18 for 90 more days.
The court ordered that they be held at Malindi, Watamu and Marereni Police Stations.
