Witness tells court Kwa Binzaro victims were buried without clothes, coffins.

Prosecution presented witnesses who testified that victims linked to the Kwa Binzaro manslaughter case were buried in a manner that sharply departed from long-established local burial traditions.

Appearing before Senior Principal Magistrate Eric Wambo, Chakama Area Chief Raymond Charo told the court that the circumstances surrounding the burials at Kwa Binzaro bore striking similarities to the events uncovered during the Shakahola investigations.

Pastor Paul Mackenzie, alongside Shallyne Temba, Kahindi Garama, Tom Mkonwe, Julius Luwali and Johnson Richard, is facing 29 counts of manslaughter over the deaths of 29 people allegedly caused at Kwa Binzaro in Chakama Location, Magarini Sub-County, Kilifi County.

Charo testified that he witnessed part of the exhumation exercise and observed that several bodies had been buried without coffins, without clothing and in shallow graves, practices he said were completely inconsistent with Giriama traditions.

“I further wish to state that according to our Giriama culture, burials are conducted during the daytime with prayers, depending on gender, and the deceased are placed inside coffins. The depth of the graves is not less than six feet,” the chief told the court.

He noted that although the local community is predominantly Giriama, the burials he witnessed did not conform to any burial practices recognised within the community.

While acknowledging that he is neither an investigator nor a pathologist, Charo clarified that his testimony was based on his personal observations during the exhumation exercise.

Charo added that he was aware police recovered additional human remains and body parts from the area before carrying out extensive exhumations, although he could not confirm the exact number recovered.

The prosecution also called Police Constable Isaiah Barasa of Langobaya Police Station to the dock, who recounted how law enforcement officers responded after receiving reports that followers at Shallyne Temba’s homestead had allegedly been radicalised into starving themselves.

In separate testimony, Allan Luwali confirmed selling a motorcycle to Kahindi Kazungu on May 18, 2024 for Sh18,000 at his garage.

He told the court that he later recorded a statement with detectives after receiving a call from a Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officer seeking information related to the mass deaths at Kwa Binzaro.