The government is proposing the conversion of Shakahola forest into a national memorial site to honor and remember the hundreds of people who perished in the tragic events that occurred within the area.
In consultation with the local community and the families of the deceased, the forest will be turned into a place of solace and remembrance for those affected, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki said.
He said the state will begin implementation of the proposed change of use once the ongoing search and rescue operation and the recovery of bodies are concluded.
“This is not a place that can be reverted to farming, ranching, and other human activities because the souls of our brothers and sisters, adults and children, that we have lost here require much more dignity than that,” he said.
He added that the memorial site will ensure that Kenya and the world never forget that there was this kind of outrage on humanity.
Kindiki noted said the decision will also incorporate any judicial directions that will be made during the trial of Paul Mackenzie, the prime suspect in the mass murder, together with his accomplices.
According to the CS, the move will give the families, friends, and residents a sense of closure owing to the nature and magnitude of the massacre.
“What has happened here is not a small matter…neither for Kenya nor for humanity all over the world. And for that reason, this scene of crime, where this most horrendous criminal work has been carried out can never be reverted to normal, ordinary human activity.”
Kindiki divulged that an inter-religious prayer meeting will also be convened to give the public and true believers of all faiths an opportunity to mourn those who died.
The event will feature what he described as a “major pronouncement in solidarity with the victims of the egregious crime” from Kenyans who may wish to stand in solidarity with the deceased.
“There will be a commemoration service presided over by men and women of faith from various religions,” Kindiki said.
“This will enable us to rescue the damage that some people would want to visit on the different religions we have in this country…so that we can redeem the sacred right and freedom of worship in our Constitution, which has been threatened and defiled by crooks and criminals and thugs who have been hiding behind scriptures of different religions to commit a crime.”
He was speaking at the forest’s edge during the commissioning of the construction of security roads within Chakama Ranch to allow the teams on the ground to venture deep into the forest land in search of more survivors and bodies.
The 50,000-acre land has been largely inaccessible, posing a significant challenge for the homicide detectives, who are yet to exhaust the exhumation and recovery of bodies buried within the Shakahola section.
Road contractors are already on site to clear the underbrush and carve a network of dirt roads that will form blocks of 100 acres as a means of penetrating the expansive area.
The CS, who was accompanied by Interior PS Dr. Raymond Omollo and the Director for Criminal Investigations (DCI), Mohamed Amin, divulged that a government surveyor has mapped out the terrain and marked key landmarks, trails, and potential search areas to help the search and rescue teams navigate the forest more methodically.
Through geospatial technologies, the surveyor has analyzed the topography, vegetation, and other factors that could affect the search operation.
Kindiki also visited the recovery teams who have embarked on the third phase of the exhumation exercise, where he announced that a total of 22 sites have been identified and marked as potential mass graves.
On the status of the investigations, the CS said the state has gathered compelling evidence against Mackenzie and his collaborators.
Through a prosecution-led process, the teams have built a watertight case, which he said warrants invocation of some international treaties and conventions that have never been applied locally.
“I want to assure the people of Kenya that we have a case and it’s just a matter of time before Mr. McKenzie, and his collaborators face their destiny.
We have enough evidence to pin him and his collaborators to the most egregious and most horrible crimes against the human race.”
“We are going to have a prosecution by our local judicial institutions of international crimes, and therefore, we are giving effect to a number of our laws that have not been tested locally before,” he said.
Key among the instruments includes the International Crimes Act of 2008, which criminalizes genocide, crimes against humanity, and extermination.
Others include The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and The Prevention of Terrorism Act.
