Grave Secrets: Fresh Unearthed Bodies Puzzle Shakahola Forest
Paul Mackenzie’s aides may still be present in the extensive Shakahola territory. Several carcasses that were exhumed from Shakahola Forest this week were recently buried.
Close sources involved in the exhumation exercise asserted confidently that the corpses may have been buried a month ago when the multi-agency team excavating the bodies paused for two weeks before resuming phase four last week.
“The graves were shallow, with loose clumps of earth on top and ashes around the edges; some appeared to be freshly dug,” said the source.
This raises the topic of whether people are still conducting burials in the forest three months later. And who?
According to Coast Regional Commissioner Rhoda Onyancha’s daily press statements, the number of rescues and arrests has remained unchanged from the previous month at 95 and 37, respectively.
Wednesday, six additional bodies were exhumed from the forest, bringing the death toll to 425, as reported by Ms. Onyancha.
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The exhumations were halted so that autopsies could be performed on the 87 victims unearthed in phase four.
“Of the 16 bodies we exhumed from the forest on Tuesday, some were still fresh, the clothing used to cover them was still intact, and the majority were adults,” said an unnamed source who was not authorized to speak to the media due to the sensitivity of the situation.
The corpses are reportedly interred in the Kwa Mugambi region. In the fourth phase of the operation, homicide detectives have exhumed a record number of bodies.
“When we began the exhumation exercise in April, we began digging in the Kwa Mugambi region, where we also discovered mass graves and exhumed over twenty corpses. Due to the low level of decomposition, it is apparent that the carcasses are recent. “Each of the nine graves contained more than one body,” the source explained.
A detective close to the investigation has verified that additional individuals believed to be Paul Mackenzie’s close associates are hiding in Shakahola Forest.
“We are pursuing them because we believe they are the ones who concealed in the forest during the search and rescue operation. But we will persevere until we locate them. “On Monday, they sent a message to the herders requesting that they warn us not to continue with the operation,” a source disclosed.
They have thus far covered approximately 75 percent of the 50,000-acre Chakama ranch, and sources have confirmed a decline in the number of graves.
Grave Secrets: Fresh Unearthed Bodies Puzzle Shakahola Forest