A Malindi court granted the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) permission to exhume bodies believed to be buried in shallow graves in the Binzaro area, Makongeni Sub-location, on the outskirts of the town.
These are new sites from the Shakahola mass graves where more than 400 bodies were found buried.
Resident Magistrate Irene Thamara issued the order directing the Chief Government pathologist to carry out the exhumation for purposes of postmortem examinations, DNA testing, and toxicological analysis to determine the causes of death.
Prosecution Counsel Judy Gachuru informed the court that investigators suspect multiple individuals were murdered through starvation and suffocation, in what appears to be part of a broader pattern of radicalization and organized criminal activity.
At least 11 suspects—Jairus Otieno Odere, Lilian Akinyi, Kahonzi Katana Karisa, Loice Zawadi, Safari Kenga Nzai, Karisa Gona Fondo, Gona Charo Kalama, Kahindi Kazungu Garama, Thomas Mukonwe, James Kahindi, and Sharleen Temba Anido are under investigation for alleged involvement in organized crime, radicalization, facilitation of terrorism, and murder.
According to a sworn affidavit filed by DCI, preliminary investigations suggest that the victims may have been starved and suffocated as a result of adopting and promoting extreme religious ideologies.
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