The former governor of Kilifi County and current Senate Speaker, Amason Kingi, has accused the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and community policing programmes of negligence regarding the Shakahola incident.
The incident, where mass graves were discovered and over 40 bodies exhumed, has raised questions about where security agencies have been.
Kingi stated that the Shakahola sect deaths took place over a considerable period of time and in the presence of the NIS, which is a cause for concern.
He questioned how controversial cult pastor Paul Mackenzie was able to gather, indoctrinate, brainwash, and starve many people to death in the name of fasting before burying them in a forest without detection.
He called for answers to these questions to prevent similar incidents from happening again. Kingi also stressed that the constitution guarantees freedom of worship but not freedom from deadly sectarianism.
He urged the NIS and the country to be extra vigilant going forward, and called for the harshest punishment to be meted out to those responsible for the deaths of the innocent souls.
Inspector General of Police, Japhet Koome, visited the area on Monday where more bodies are expected to be exhumed.
He confirmed that 14 people were in police custody pending investigations into the deaths at Shakahola. Innocent worshippers of the Good News International Church, including children, are believed to have been forced to fast to death.
Speaking for the first time about the Shakahola incident during the Prison Officers Cadet Passing Out Parade, President William Ruto said people like Mackenzie belonged in prison. He also stressed that people like him and other terrorists do not belong to any religion.
