President William Ruto has now said he will this week appoint a Judicial Commission of Inquiry to probe the bizarre deaths of suspected indoctrinated persons who engaged in fasting and starved to death in Shakahola Forest in Kilifi county.
Even as the president sits to appoint the commission probe, the nation still remains in the dark of the true happenings that led to the death of hundreds of people with 109 bodies recovered so far.
However, although government officials including security sector players have been accused of laxity and negligence, in the ongoing search and rescue operations combined with exhumation of bodies of victims buried in mass graves, the media and human rights players have been blocked from taking part in the exercise further clouding the true happenings in the 800 piece of land linked to the prime suspect, controversial preacher Paul Nthenge Mackenzie of the Good News International Church.
Besides Mackenzie, televangelist Ezekiel Odero New Life Prayer Centre and Church who was arrested in connection to the Shakahola deaths as an accomplice has since admitted that 15 people have died while seeking spiritual interventions in his church.
Today, during a church service in West Pokot, the president said that the commission will also put an end to incidents similar to the Shakahola massacre.
President Ruto stated that the commission will be expected to go through the case with a fine tooth comb and hold accountable everyone found culpable.
“This week I will appoint a Judicial Commission of Inquiry so that we can get to the bottom of what happened in Shakahola with Mackenzie and all his collaborators.” President Ruto said.
At the same time, the president added that he will hold extensive discussions with spiritual leaders from across the country to develop a legal framework within which religious centres will operate.
He condemned the Shakahola massacre, stated that the framework will help in taming individuals who seek personal gain in the name of religion.
“I will hold consultations with our religious leaders to have a taskforce so that we can weed out the characters who want to abuse religion to run businesses and things that are anti-religion. We want to provide a framework agreed with our religious leaders that will provide for self-regulation so that our church, religion and spiritual leaders can have a mechanism where they can point out to government those who want to abuse religion for other purposes.” He noted.
In what appeared to heap blame on the security officials, president Ruto said all commissioners and county officers have been transferred over what he termed as “sleeping on the job”.
“We transferred all those who slept on the job, the commissioners, policemen, CID officers who were there when the death of many Kenyans was happening. We have told them to leave so that we can know what really happened.” The president added.
