MALINDI, Kenya – The prosecution has presented witnesses who told a court that victims linked to the Kwa Binzaro manslaughter case were buried without clothes, coffins or adherence to traditional Giriama burial practices.
Appearing before Senior Principal Magistrate Eric Wambo on Wednesday, Chakama Area Chief Raymond Charo testified that the burials at Kwa Binzaro in Magarini Sub-County bore similarities to those uncovered during investigations into the Shakahola deaths.
Pastor Paul Mackenzie, alongside Shallyne Temba, Kahindi Garama, Tom Mkonwe, Julius Luwali and Johnson Richard, is charged with 29 counts of manslaughter over the deaths of 29 people allegedly linked to Kwa Binzaro in Chakama Location, Kilifi County.
Charo told the court that he witnessed part of the exhumation exercise and observed that several bodies had been buried in shallow graves without coffins or clothing.
“I further wish to state that according to our Giriama culture, burials are conducted during the daytime with prayers, depending on gender, and the deceased are placed inside coffins. The depth of the graves is not less than six feet,” Charo testified.
He said the burials did not conform to recognised Giriama customs despite the area being predominantly inhabited by members of the community.
Charo clarified that he was neither an investigator nor a government pathologist and that his testimony was limited to what he personally observed during the exhumation exercise.
He further told the court that he was aware police had recovered additional human remains and body parts from the area before carrying out extensive exhumations, although he could not confirm the exact number recovered.
The prosecution also called Police Constable Isaiah Barasa of Langobaya Police Station, who testified that officers launched investigations after receiving reports that followers at the homestead of co-accused Shallyne Temba had allegedly been radicalised into starving themselves.
In separate testimony, Allan Luwali told the court that he sold a motorcycle to Kahindi Kazungu on May 18, 2024, for Sh18,000 at his garage.
Luwali said he later recorded a statement with detectives after receiving a call from an officer attached to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) seeking information related to the deaths at Kwa Binzaro.
The trial is continuing as the prosecution presents additional witnesses to support its case against the six accused persons, who face manslaughter charges arising from the deaths allegedly linked to the Kwa Binzaro incident.