“Death Triangle” in Shakahola Forest: Insights from Satellite Imagery Analysis.

“Death Triangle” in Shakahola Forest: Insights from Satellite Imagery Analysis.

On the morning of April 13, police received information that a crime may have occurred within the Shakahola forest.

Subsequently, 15 malnourished individuals were located within the forest. They were so frail that four of them passed away before reaching the hospital.

The next day, police began systematically combing the forest, and on April 21, it became clear that there was much more to the forest as mass graves were discovered.

President William Ruto announced that the government would establish a judicial commission of inquiry to determine why Pastor Paul Mackenzie’s questionable activities went undetected for so long. The revelations sent shockwaves throughout the nation.

On April 25, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki visited Shakahola and declared it a crime scene.

On April 26, the police forbade journalists from entering the Shakahola forest, which marked a significant change in the situation.

The 800 acres of land, where more than 200 bodies have been exhumed thus far, is a disturbed area and an operation zone, according to the police.

ALSO READ: Rising Death Toll: 22 More Bodies Unearthed in Shakahola Doomsday Cult Case

However, these events raised unending questions regarding the duration of these acts within the forest.

The Nation has analyzed and compared satellite images and witness accounts to reveal the truth about the Shakahola tragedy and how the forest became a killing and burial ground.

It is essential to note that despite the significance of this satellite imagery, it does not replace physical evidence gathered at the scene of the crime.

But it goes a long way toward illuminating what transpired within Mackenzie’s tightly controlled villages.

establishing the location

Because we were unable to access the Shakahola forest, satellite imagery was our only visual evidence of human activity and settlement.

Priority was given to geolocation for thorough verification and to aid in the investigation of where the killings and burials occurred.

Our investigative unit, which provided a report from the scene, provided the current coordinates for this location.

Using the codes, we accurately pinpointed the forest location where exhumations had occurred.

With the hypothesis that this was the location of the Shakahola village in mind, we mapped out a triangle that was slightly larger than three square miles (approximately 1,920 acres) to identify the changes over time.

Shakahola forest is located in Kilifi County in southeast Kenya, 69.9 kilometers from Malindi town.

ALSO READ: Raila Detects State’s Mischief with Shakahola Cult

Next to the C103 highway, which connects Taita-Taveta to Malindi, is an isolated forest.

Its location may explain why illegal activities went undetected for so long.

According to Google Earth Pro imagery, the sparsely populated region of Shakahola has a limited infrastructure.

Activities

Through the Sentinel Hub satellite chronology, the nation was able to determine the forest activities beginning in 2020.

Since Sentinel Hub is more frequently updated than Google Earth satellite imagery, our team was able to effectively narrow down dates.

Initially, we had to identify the changes in vegetation cover over time.

Using the color infrared filter to identify vegetation, we identified a substantial change in vegetation cover between October 22, 2020, and March 11, 2023.

In October 2020, the area surrounding the village was intact and covered in dense vegetation, but by March 2023, the forest contained brown spaces.

Now that we were certain that there were events within our area of interest, we began tracking down the alterations.

The first activity within the Shakahola forest occurred between October 22, 2020, and December 21, 2020, when a section of the forest was cleared.

The first boundaries within Shakahola village were two spaces that resembled open fields and a water pond.

Five months later, on the 20th of May, 2021, we observed that changes were occurring within the forest and that the spaces were expanding, particularly in the center of Shakahola village.

ALSO READ: Ruto Bolsters Authority: More Appointments to Shakahola Inquiry Team Amid Raila Lawsuit

A closer look reveals more of the brown signature markings.

A year later, in October 2021, additional changes were occurring within the forest, and the brown spaces had become prominent.

More brown spaces appeared in January 2022, presumably to make room for more houses.

By 19 July 2022, additional demarcations had been added to the village’s central area, and the expansion had shifted southward.

At this time, it was evident that additional settlements had sprung up within Shakahola village.

By March 2023, we were confident that human activity existed within the Shakahola forest.

The brown patches had significantly expanded, leaving voids behind.

To demonstrate the changes, it is possible to compare two dates to determine what has changed in this village.

A comparison of the triangle over time reveals that significant vegetation had been removed and that there were more brown patches of earth within the triangle.

Identifying homes

After narrowing down the chronological changes using Sentinel Hub, we investigated human settlements to highlight our findings.

ALSO READ: Government Accused of Deterring Survivors in Shakahola Operation

According to media reports, Mackenzie and hundreds of his followers lived in makeshift homes in a remote forest and demarcated areas with biblical names such as Jerusalem and Judea.

In May 2023, a closer examination of Apple maps revealed that sections of the Shakahola village had been demarcated, providing further evidence of recent human activities within the forest.

Using satellite imagery from Apple Maps, we counted the houses visible within Shakaholo village.

Considering a Kenyan traditional compound layout, we were able to identify some of the houses in the satellite image based on the shape and color of the rooftops as well as the proximity of the rooftops.

We can see what appears to be a pond at the far end of this open field, and a few meters away, satellite images captured animals grazing.

We counted a total of 120 homes within the forest. Given the number of bodies and the method of approximation we used, the actual number of dwellings may be greater.

Since the beginning of the exhumations, over 200 bodies have been recovered, and the exhumations have occurred in two phases.

Given the vastness of the area, the possibility of discovering many more bodies increases as the search continues.

“Death Triangle” in Shakahola Forest: Insights from Satellite Imagery Analysis.

HEY READER. PLEASE SUPPORT THIS SITE BY CLICKING ADS. DON’T FORGET TO HIT THE NOTIFICATION BELL FOR MORE UPDATES AROUND THE GLOBE.