NAIROBI, Kenya – The Kilifi County Government plans to bury 443 bodies and body parts recovered from Shakahola by December after the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) completed investigations into the remains.
Kilifi County Executive Committee Member for Health Peter Mwarogo said the DCI had given the county clearance to proceed with the interment.
The remains, which include complete bodies and body parts, have already been embalmed as preparations for burial get underway.
DCI Clears Remains for Burial
Mwarogo said investigations into the remains had been completed, allowing the county to begin the final stage of the process.
“DCI have concluded investigations on the bodies. We have embalmed the 443 bodies which are at our base. They have given us the go-ahead for the interment of the bodies,” he said.
The county plans to inter the remains at land it has identified near Shakahola.
Mwarogo said the burial process is expected to be completed by December.
Families Given 21 Days to Identify Remains
The county has given families 21 days to identify relatives who may be among the unidentified remains.
So far, 14 bodies have been identified by families, according to Mwarogo.
The county has issued a Gazette Notice to facilitate the identification process and is urging relatives who believe their loved ones may have died in Shakahola to come forward.
Mwarogo warned that the county would seek court authority to dispose of the remains if they remain unidentified after the 21-day period.
“If they will not have identified their bodies in 21 days, we will move to court and dispose them,” he said.
Burial Site Identified Near Shakahola
The county has already identified land near Shakahola where the remains will be interred.
Mwarogo said the burial would be carried out in a way that preserves the possibility of identifying the remains in future.
This means the process will take into account the possibility that families could later provide information that helps establish the identity of those buried.
Shakahola Exhumations Recovered Hundreds of Bodies
The remains are part of the hundreds of bodies recovered during extensive exhumations in the Shakahola area.
The exhumations followed investigations into deaths linked to the Shakahola tragedy and triggered a major forensic identification exercise involving government agencies and families of missing persons.
Authorities have used forensic methods to try to establish the identities of the victims and reunite identified remains with their families.
The county’s latest announcement comes after the completion of the investigative process involving the 443 remains currently in its custody.
Families Urged to Come Forward
Kilifi County has urged families who have not yet established the fate of missing relatives to use the 21-day identification window.
The county says the process will allow relatives an opportunity to come forward before the remains are prepared for interment.
With the DCI investigations completed and the burial site identified, the county expects the long-running process involving the unidentified Shakahola remains to reach its next stage by December.
